


There For You

by Darkpixel



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Super Sons (Comics), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily Feels, Canonical Character Death, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Cute Damian Wayne, Damian Wayne-centric, Domesticity, F/F, First Time, Firsts, Fix-It, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I basically just want to write them doing stuff normal teenagers would do, Jon doesn't join the legion of superheroes, M/M, Mutual Pining, Protective Jon, Slow Burn, This is going to deal with the Ric bs as well, damian needs a lot of hugs, dealing with the aftermaths of death, fanarts inside, follow canon up to batman 85 and superman 18 of the current runs, if you're up to speed with canon you know who it is, of sorts, spoilers for batman 85, teen titans fix-it, the kents are awesome parents (again fuck off bendis), with a dash of superheroing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 91,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkpixel/pseuds/Darkpixel
Summary: PART ONE (Chapter 1-9): Jon has missed six years of his life lost in space…only to realize that no, he hasn’t. And yet he has. He doesn’t know if it's better or worse, but he has moved on, he has grown up, while the rest of his life has stayed the same. Three weeks. That’s how much time has passed on earth. Three fucking weeks.Damian has lost everything. His team mates hate him. His family is in shambles, his own beloved brother doesn't even remember who he is and his best friend has gone missing to then come back a different person.And now... even his last life line, the last patch of dry land has crumbled under his feet.When life gives them something irreparable, both Jon and Damian have to learn to accept it, move on, and be there for each otherPART TWO (Chapter 10-17): A bit of quiet and fun times before the storm. Jon and Damian have to learn how to deal with their new situation and what it means for them... and take the first awkward steps of their changed relationship, with the help of friends and family.PART THREE (chapter 18-to the end): ??? After three years of being together...
Relationships: Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne, Kathy Branden/Maya Ducard, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Comments: 462
Kudos: 770





	1. A life that's a few sizes too small

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! While this isn't my first fic, it's my first Jon Dami fic. It's a story that practically wrote itself while I was reading the mess that is canon right now. I'm not happy with Bendis aging up Jon and what's going on in Batman but... this story came to me and I tried to at least write more human reaction from the characters than what Bendis has been writing. Cause let's be honest, he writes the Kents like a bunch of sociopath psychos. ("Sure son! Go spent the summer by yourself with wierdo brain damaged granpa! WHAT COULD GO WRONG??" "Oh, you just got back after seven years being lost in space and being imprisoned, tortured and otherwise traumatized? Sure son, GO ON, LEAVE AGAIN TO JOIN THIS WIERD BUNCH OF SUPER HOROES I KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT, WHAT-COULD-GO-WRONG??" Yeah I'm salty. Can you feel the salt?)  
> So....I tried to set this in canon but I refuse to acknowledge what Bendis has done to Lois and there might be some inaccuracies in timelines cause...they are not that clear in canon itself.  
> That said...I hope you like it, I poured a lot into this story! :)

So when your tears roll down your pillow like a river

I’ll be there for you

I’ll be there for you

When you’re screaming, but they only hear your whisper

I’ll be loud for you

I’ll be loud for you

Jon sighed. He had been doing a lot of that in the past three hours.

“Feeling out of place” wasn’t a sentence that used to make a lot of sense to him before, but then again, when you are a super-powered ten years old whose father comes from another planet, you learn to fit in any kind of weird situation.

Now that he was a super-powered seventeen years old…not so much.

Everything felt…off. Wrong. His home and his life didn’t feel like they belonged to him anymore.

 _I guess I had it coming_ he thought. Coming back to your ten years old life as a seventeen years old and hoping to fit right back in it was just wishful thinking. He didn’t even fit in his bed anymore, or his clothes. He had gone for a bit of a shopping spree with his mom the day before. That had been a weird experience in itself. His mum kept picking stuff that was either too small or too childish only to then realize her mistake and laughing it off, all the while acting like her heart wasn’t breaking a bit more at every discarded shirt she put back on the shelves. It almost drove Jon mad with guilt. It made him want to rip the damn shop apart.

That was another thing that made this whole mess even harder to bear. He was angry. His family used to know him as this happy-go-lucky child with an endless positive outlook on life, … and…he wasn’t anymore.

Sure, his sense of morality hadn’t changed, he was still proud of being his father’s son, and he was so proud of how he had managed to survive all on his own and come back. He was. He really was…but… at the same time…

During all those years fighting for his life, all those interminable and painful days imprisoned in the volcano… this a _nger_ had festered inside of him. He had been alone, loosing precious moments with his family, his adventures with his father, the quiet, sweet afternoons in the company of his mother typing away in the back ground while he did some homework, their fun weekends in Hamilton, his high school years, growing up with his friends, seeing his parents get older.

He lost all of that, six years of his life gone…only to realize that no, he hadn’t. And yet he had. He didn’t know if it was better or worse, but he had moved on, he had grown up, while the rest of his life hadn’t followed him.

Three weeks. That’s how much time had passed.

Three fucking weeks.

And there he was now, a seventeen years old brooding in the room of a kid.

He flopped back on the bed, with his legs sticking out of the end. He listened to the steady patter of rain on the glass of his window. It had been raining since morning, and it did nothing to lift his sullen mood. Flying under the rain wasn’t fun, no matter how invulnerable you are.

Sure, the future wasn’t at all looking as bleak as his past. He had a path open for him. It was looking more and more appealing by the day. The legion of super heroes wanted him. He had a place there. A new shining life full of glory and adventures and way too many new friends.

And yet.

He might not fit into his old life anymore but leaving so soon after coming back didn’t feel right. When Saturn girl had come to pick him up at the fortress of solitude he had been this close to say yes. But he hadn’t. He had too many loose ends, too many things he had missed to leave so soon.

He wanted to know who seventeen years old Jonathan Samuel lane Kent could be, before definitely leaving it all behind to become superboy permanently.

He stopped himself from sighing again. He decided it was time to get out of his funk and do something productive, or at least start to figure out how to make his life a few size larger than it was at the moment, so that the walls of his own room would stop feeling like they were trying to close in on him.

He went to the empty living room and opened up his old laptop to pull up Ikea’s website. He would start by getting a new bed. It sounded like a really good start. A queen sized one, one his feet wouldn’t stuck out of. Yes. That sounded like a perfect first step.

Once he had a cart full of a comfy big bed, bed sheets, a nice-and grown up- looking comforter and more than a few throw pillows for good measure (when you spend years sleeping at the bottom of a volcano prison you learn to appreciate comfort) he felt a lot better about himself and decided to pull up a few news websites, to get up to speed with what was going on in the world. Or well… remember what was going on at this point in time.

More than a few headlines were about his father’s decision to come out in the open.

“Superman revealed to be Daily planet reporter Clark Kent”

Yeah, he would worry about that at a later date.

_Thanks a lot about that by the way, dad. It’s not like my life wasn’t complicated enough as it is_

He respected his father decision, he really did. But he kind of took the decision to come out in the open out of his hands. Or maybe he didn’t. The people of metropolis still expected him to be a kid. That could play in his favor. But then again, he really didn’t want to think about that yet. It was a whole other headache he didn’t want to think about.

A few more headlines where about the mess that was Gotham at that moment. That was something else he really didn’t understand. Damian hadn’t really told him anything when he went to look for him for the big reveal. He had seemed normal, his usual self-assured, careless self.

Really, though, if there was one thing he remembered well about Damian Wayne is that he was a really good lair. He would also never really speak of his problems, as apparently was common among the bats “family matters stay in the family” and as Gotham was _their_ city, that meant that any problem in Gotham stayed in Gotham. Once his father had told him with a frustrated expression that he wished Batman would confide more in him. Ask for help. But the bat never did. Not even when it was a matter of life and death. His father begrudgingly respected that, but the more Jon read, the less attuned to his father laissez-faire attitude he felt.

Two batmen? A Gotham free of crime under dictatorship? Bane?

Was Damian ok? Sure he could take care of himself and the batman probably dealt with this kind of crap on the daily but then again…

When he had met Damian a week before he had felt…off. Jon had just written it off as it being because he was meeting his friend after years apart and the whole I-grew-up-while-he-didn’t shtick but…

The Damian he knew wouldn’t have just told him to leave everything behind to go join a mysterious league of superheroes in the future, even less asked him to save him a spot. He had hugged him for crying out loud!

Not that he had minded it, he had been the one to do the hugging first.

He had wanted to do that for years. How many time he had bitterly smiled thinking back at their childish behavior when they had first met. The fights, the pranks, their making fun of each other. Their constant battle to best each-other up. Rao, he had missed all that. At first, before his adventures from deep space had taken a turn for the worst, he had been constantly thinking “I wish D was here” or “Dami would probably do this, or say that” the Robin a constant fixture in his mind, as his ten years old life had pretty much revolved around the older boy at that point. As things had turned darker and he had found himself alone with his deranged and distant grandfather Damian had still been front and center in his thoughts, he had missed him more and more, he had even tried to send him some messages, playing off his growing worrying about how he was going to escape behind some stupid remark about his card collection. Damian had made him feel safe. He had been older, more knowledgeable, always ready with a brilliant back up plan.

Damian hadn’t been there though.

Even when they had been trapped in the stupid cube, with no way to go back home in sight, Damian had been there with him. It had all been a fun summer adventure, never once had it crossed his mind that something irreparable could have happened to them. They were the supersons and life was great.

But Damian hadn’t been there. And as the years had gone on he had tried to force himself to think about him less and less. It hurt too much, he missed him too much, and back when he had believed that time was going forward on earth it had hurt to think that D was growing up with the Teen titans instead of him.

In the long lonely days in the volcano, when he had been about to give up, he would sometimes open again that drawer in his mind labeled “Damian Wayne-best friend” and daydream about how his friend would look grown up. Would he had finally have gotten his wish to be taller? Taller than him? Was his hair longer? - _He’d probably look nice with long hair_ -Was he still wearing the same Robin uniform? Or had he changed it? Maybe he had grown out of that alias and become another hero, like most of his brothers did…

Where his eyes behind the domino mask really as green as he remembered them to be…?

Yet all of that had been a moot point. Cause his Robin hadn’t grown up. He was still the same thirteen - fourteen? Another September had come and gone so he guessed fourteen now- years old kid of his memory.

His grandfather had taken that from him as well.

He was older than Damian now.

He had always been taller, sure, but now Damian looked…small. He had looked so small. So vulnerable. He didn’t feel safe with him anymore. He knew that wasn’t fair, his friend was still pretty capable of kicking ass, but now, thinking about him out there fighting the kind of monsters he had read about in the news made him angry. Not angry at Robin, but at the rest of the world. He was a kid. Damian was still a kid. Just like he had been a kid. Alone. Without protection. A kid. Fighting monsters.

It made him feel protective of him.

Which was completely absurd and would probably get him a green combat boot straight to the face were him to ever voice his concerned in the vicinity of said Robin.

Damian could take care of himself all right.

He closed the laptop and stretched. Time to get some fresh air and clear his head. He would call Damian later. He would probably click his tongue and berate him for even having asked him and tell him that that Bane guy was already behind bars and “what do you take me for, Kent?”

He picked up his phone, keys and wallet and the shiny new leather jacket with superman-crest on the back (how cool was that? That was one thing both he and his mother had immediately agreed on) and headed out. He was going to get himself and his parents some Chinese food. He was a grown up. He could do that now. (How cool was that?)

It was still raining like crazy, but it wasn’t like he could get a cold. He still got an umbrella, however, cause he really didn’t want to ruin his new jacket.

After the nice stroll and the even nicer dumplings he had gotten and had already eaten, he was heading back home with his mood much lighter and a big warm bag or heavenly smelling food in one arm and the umbrella in the other.

He was almost at his doorstep when he saw him.

A small dark lump huddled at the bottom step to the entrance of his complex.

He had no umbrella, and he was completely soaked trough, lightly shivering, his arms closely hugging his knees.

The few people walking by were barely throwing him a glance, turning up their noses. He even heard someone muttering curses at homeless boys that shouldn’t be in such a nice part of town.

He didn’t even had the time to get angry. He knew better.

That wasn’t a homeless boy. That was Damian Wayne, and something was very, very wrong.

He let go of the umbrella and the food and he run to few steps separating them, probably a bit too fast to look human but at that moment he didn’t care.

He looked so small, his shoulder hunched, his face covered by the wet black hair falling in his face.

His bigger than life Robin should never look so small. That protective instinct that he had previously tried to squash down flared back to life with viciousness.

“Damian!"


	2. Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I'm so happy that you people are liking this so far!! I was ready to get like two kudos and not one comment cause that's usually how it goes every time I try to write ^^''  
> I'm so happy and grateful :)))  
> So, without pause, here is chapter 2! Next one will come on Tuesday! I think I'll keep posting every other day for now, unless something happens!  
> There we go, let's see what Dami has been up to ;)

Damian was…cold.

It was probably raining if the way his clothes were clinging to him were any indication, but he didn’t care.

He was…walking. He had been walking for a while. He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t care.

His elegantly clad feet hurt. His shoes were new, worn only in another single occasion, on a rooftop, just a few weeks ago, but that felt like something out of another life. They were all shiny and black and probably had cost way too much to be worn in such a weather, but he didn’t care.

His head was empty. All he could hear was the dirt hitting polished wood, a dull thud that kept echoing in his skull. Loud, like the crack of a neck, snapping. And snapping. Over and over.

He had been the one throwing it; he could still feel the remains of the muddy earth under his fingernails, which were probably black and scraped.

Alfred would throw a fit if he were to see him like this.

If he were to see him now, wandering around aimlessly, his nicer suit wet and ruined he would look down his nose at him disapprovingly, order him to bathe and then prepare him his favorite Earl Grey tea with cinnamon butter cookies, all ready for him by his warm and popping fireplace.

If he were to go back to the manor now, his fireplace would be dark and cold. No tea. No cookies.

No…

He had taken a taxi at some point. He knew he did. The man had first wrinkled his nose at his state, but had been more than willing to haul him anywhere when he had seen the kind of money he had carelessly thrown at him. Way too much. He didn’t care.

When he had stumbled out after a few hours- that taxi driver probably had made enough with just one trip to last him for a month- he had kept walking.

If he had had enough strength to care he would have probably stopped, cause by then he had a pretty good idea of where he was going. But he was tired. So tired. And cold.

He just wanted…he needed…

At the end he arrived at his destination, his feet in blisters by now. His nice shoes ruined. He reached the wall he had scaled so many times, all the way to that one window, now dark. He was not at home then. Was he even on earth? He hadn’t thought about it.

He didn’t care.

So he sat.

And waited.

“Damian!”

Jon crouched in front of his friend, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him.

“What happened? Are you hurt? Why didn’t you go in? Why didn’t you call me? Damian? Dami? D?”

No answer.

His skin felt icy to the touch and his usually olive tone looked pale and washed out.

He looked like a lifeless ghost, and it scared Jon to death.

He made an executive decision, and scooped up the boy in his arms, getting no reaction from the other.

He glanced back to the discarded umbrella and bag of food, making a note to come back for them as soon as he had brought Damian inside. He might need that food. Damian might need it. Thinking back about his purchases there was plenty of stuff his picky friend wouldn’t turn his vegetarian nose from.

In a flash –a literal one, to hell with secret identities- he had both Damian and the bag of food secured inside the house and the heating turned out to the max.

He had carefully deposited Damian on the too small bed –damn his procrastination in getting a new one- and in the short time it had taken him to go down to retrieve the bag of food the boy hadn’t moved. He didn’t even seem to acknowledge the change of scenery, or Jon’s presence at all.

“Hey” he addressed him again, with all the gentleness he could muster. “Hey, talk to me Dami, you’re scaring me a bit here”

He lowered his face to peer in Damian’s eyes, and when that still got no reaction he grabbed his face in his hands to coax him to look up.

His eyes were dry. He wasn’t crying. They weren’t even red. Yet their once bright green color looked faded almost to grey.

“Hey” he tried again, not knowing what to say.

“Hey D, it’s just me. It’s Jon”

Suddenly Damian blinked. One of his hands came to touch Jon’s face, tracing the deep scar that now marred his face.

He started to shake his head, his eyes rapidly turning red and glassy, he shook his head faster and faster, his whole body shaking with it. “Damian. Damian stop! Tell me what’s wrong! Please! What happened? Please, stop!”

Jon tried to calm him down to no avail, his breathing turning short, his eyes closing shut, his teeth gnawing at his lip, drawing blood “DAMIAN!” And then…

Damian let out a guttural noise, deep from his chest. The sound of a wounded animal. He threw himself at Jon, toppling him to the floor and he stated to cry, big wrecking, ugly sobs, clutching at Jon’s jacket like a life line and shaking his head over and over, his forehead pressed against Jon’s shirt that was rapidly growing wet.

Jon was dumbstruck. This was Damian Wayne. Fearless Robin, Head of the teen titans, SON OF THE BATMAN. He didn’t cry. The Damian he remembered didn’t cry. He would end anyone for even mentioning the possibility.

Something had happened. Something big. Something terrible.

Jon was scared.

They stayed like that for a long time; Damian’s sobs turning weaker, the puddle of rain water on the floor getting bigger. Jon didn’t care. He didn’t get cramps, he couldn’t get sore, or cold. He was invulnerable and yet one of the most important persons in his life was crumbling and there was nothing he could do but trying to hold the pieces together.

When Damian finally fell quiet, Jon spoke again.

“Hey” _Wow Jon, you’re really outdoing yourself with your inhuman speech skills._

“…You keep saying that” Damian croaked against the cotton of his shirt.

A witty retort. Well, kind of. Jon could work with that.

“Yeah, well, it looks like seven years out of school didn’t do wonders for my rhetoric”

Damian tensed.

Maybe mentioning that wasn’t a good idea at the moment.

“Yeeeeeah, so. Let’s get you out of those clothes, shall we?” He asked, trying to fake a cheeriness he didn’t really feel.

Damian scowled at him. Somehow the red nose, wet eyes and splotchy cheeks took most of the usual fear factor out of it and added a layer of cuteness Jon decided not to coo at. Cause that would be highly inappropriate at the moment.

A voice inside his head that sounded a lot like the eradicator kept telling him to hunt down and destroy whoever did this to Damian. But he was trying to firmly ignore that too.

For now.

“I mean, they’re wet. Really wet. You are really wet.”

“Yeah, I can see what you mean about needing to work or your rhetoric” Damian retorted back.

Jon smiled, not even caring that he was being offended. This sounded more like his Damian. Maybe things will be all right after all.

Damian took a warm shower and Jon thanked the heavens for small mercies that he had not yet thrown away his old clothes. He managed to find a pair of plaid sweats and a hoodie that didn’t look too big on the other boy.

After he came out of the bathroom Damian was quiet again. He stood there for a bit, looking intently at a spot at the floor near Jon’s minuscule bed.

Jon silently opened and closed his mouth for a full minute, like a fish, a question on the tip of his tongue and a thousand alarms flaring in his head telling him to not go there, not yet.

“You hungry?” he finally settled on.

Damian looked up, a flash of relief in his eyes.

“I’m tired” he stated, turning to look longingly at the bed.

“Do you want me to let you sleep?”

Damian frown deepened, and he looked away again, shoulders tensed.

Jon had to fight a smile. Apparently he could still read Damianese just fine.

“Let’s watch a movie”

He grabbed Damian’s elbow, not stopping at the token protest the other put up, and dragged him on his bed. He fetched the laptop and a blanket, turned out the lights and sat as close to the other as possible, to avoid falling off the too small bed. Yeah. He was going with that excuse.

He moved pass any kind of tragic, hero-theme, or family related movie and ended up going with Space Jam. After a few minutes of watching colorful Looney tunes rolling on the screen Jon felt the last bit of tension leaving Damian’s shoulders. After a few minutes more the other boy was deep asleep, his head on Jon’s shoulders.

Lois Lane was tired. She had a had a long day. Worse, she had had a long week. A long life. And now she had to deal with being superman’s wife as well.

Well, she had been Superman’s wife for a long time, but now the whole world knew who her husband was. Both of his faces. And while she was proud of her amazing husband at the moment her head hurt. And so did her feet, she just wanted to go home and cuddle on the couch with her adorkable son, watching crappy tv shows.

Aaaaand that was a whole other mess she didn’t know how to deal about. Cause in the span of a month her adorkable baby faced ten years old son, was now an adorkable handsome faced seventeen years old. And she didn’t know how to deal with that. At all.

She knew her son was going to grow up to be taller than her –eventually- and that she would have to deal with a whole mess of puberty, hormones, girlfriends (or boyfriends) and, in the special case of her son, ever growing formidable opponents and absurd situations. And she had been looking forward to it, for real, but not like this.

Her baby was gone. Her son was still there but he wasn’t her baby anymore. She felt robbed. And guilty. So guilty. If only she hadn’t left him with her crazy father-in-law! -What had she been thinking?- Her baby. Her baby was now a tall good looking poised stranger.

Her phone ringed, Bonnie Tyler’s “I need a hero” muffled by the fabric of her raincoat pocket.

“Hi, handsome” she answered first, already knowing who it was. “saved many cats today or were you too busy posing for photographs?”

“Lois” Clark stopped her, a note of pain in his voice.

_Oh. That didn’t sound good._

_“_ Clark, what’s wrong? Are you all right?

 _Are you safe? Please tell me you’re safe_ the old, ever present fear rearing its ugly head.

“I’m fine, Lois. Are you home? Is Jon with you?”

“Is Jon in danger?!”

“No, listen, I need you to go home. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Look Lois…something happened, something bad”

A few minutes later she hung up the phone and ran. She wanted to see her baby. She needed to tell him before he came to know of it by himself. She needed to be there for him, it was the least she could do for him.

The man hadn’t been apart of their family. For a long time their family had consisted of only the three of them after all. And it had been more than enough.

In time, however, Clark had found comrades and allies, and by proxy she had found friends, a family of sorts. This was even more true for Jon, who, with his heart of gold and easily lovable nature had managed to worm his way into the most close guarded and mistrusting family Lois had even known. The Waynes were a mysterious bunch, and that was even more true for the batfamily. But her two boys both had found kindred spirits in those dark folds, her husband a brother in arms and Jon…

“oh god, Damian” she muttered to herself. The boy must be devastated. Out of all the Wayne kids he was the one that was going to suffer most out of this.

As far as Lois knew the man shared an equal love for all of the young Wayne wards but the others had had family, had known love outside of the manor. Damian hadn’t.

Alfred had been a father to him. Even more than Bruce himself.

Damian was going to be devastated. And so would be Jon.

Her baby.

Hers.

At the end he almost beat her to it. His tall figure was clad in a big hoodie, shading his face, standing in front of the door to their apartment complex.

“You look like a burglar trying to rob his own home” she said from behind. He actually jumped. His mind really was someplace else if she could sneak up on the superman.

“Lois!I…”

She kissed him.

“How is Bruce?”

“I wish I knew. He went radio silent, not even answering Justice league’s com”

“Well, hasn’t he been MIA for weeks now? How did you even came to know of this?”

“Diana told me”

“Who told her?”

Calrk was silent for a moment.

“Selina apparently”

“Catwoman? They’re back together _?” After that rooftop wedding fiasco?_

 _“_ Yes, thank god for small mercies”

“Well, that’s something at least, but Jesus Clark, do you know how it even happened? What the hell has actually happened in Gotham to get to this?”

“I have no idea. I mean, I told how bad Bruce looked last I saw him, and he was already in the middle of this mess. He had look…defeated. But you know the man, he refused my help besides getting the serum for Gotham girl. Gods Lois. I should have been there. He’s my friend, he lost his father and I didn’t even know that today was the funeral! I should have been there”

She hugged him. “You didn’t know. You said it yourself. He never asks for help. Let’s go find Jon. We have to tell him. He will want to be there for Damian. Do you know if he’s home?”

Clark looked up, his gaze focused.

“Uh…” he muttered.

“what?”

“It seems we’re too late after all…”

Jon was startled awake by the sound of the front door opening. His parents were home. He really had no wish to get up, finally feeling pretty comfortable in the too small bed with Damian as warm presence curled in his side. He had to go talk to them though. They needed to know about Damian, there was no keeping secret from someone with x-ray vision and super hearing.

That was something that might become a problem at some point, Jon realized, somehow it had never occurred to him when he had been a child. Go figure.

He left the bed as quietly as he could, and sighed in relief when Damian didn’t budge. He must have been really tired.

As soon as he went into the living room he started the conversation he had rehearsed in his mind like a mantra before falling asleep “Hi, ma, hi pa! Look, I know it’s late and unprompted but could maybe Damian stay here for tonight? He fell asleep and you know-”

“How is he?” Lois stopped him mid sentence.

“You….what? How do you…?”

“Know he’s here? Your father has x-ray vision kiddo”

_Dammit._

_“_ No, I mean, why are you asking how he is?” he wasn’t telling his mom about his best friend’s melt down. It was in the best friend rulebook. Damian would have his hide if he knew.

“What do you mean why? Of course I’m worried about him, poor boy, he must be feeling terribly after all that has happened. Have you two eaten anything? Wait, how did he got here with this weather?”

“Wait. Wait. What you do mean all that has happened? And no, we haven’t eaten, he feel asleep before that. What happened mom?” he had decided to wait for Damian to talk to him, but if even his parents were this worried, he had to know.

An awkward silence fell in the room.

“You….you don’t know?”

“Know what?!

His parents shared a look.. Jon had always admired them for their ability to silently talk trough a single glance but now he found it annoying.

“What?” he kind of screamed-whispered, mindful of not waking Damian up.

“Let’s sit down”

“That’s impossible”

“Jon… I’m sorry”

“No. You don’t understand. It’s impossible”

Lois sighed, squeezing the hand she was holding. It was bigger than hers now.

“Dad, tell her. It’s impossible. You know how safe that place is. No one can get beyond the cave’s secure system. YOU can’t get beyond the cave security system if Batman doesn’t want you to. How….HOW?”

“It’s not impossible, unfortunately. It has happened before. And I don’t know how. I still haven’t been able to talk face to face with Bruce…well. I guess you could ask Damian but…”

His father turned to look towards his room “but I wouldn’t force him to talk if he doesn’t feel like it”

Jon just sat there for a bit, staring helplessly at his father. His father just stared helplessly back. It felt impossible. There they were, talking about the batfamily THE batman’s family, the man whose contingency plans had contingency plans. Not this time. This time his plans had failed. They had lost.

It felt impossible, but deep down he knew it was true.

Alfred was dead.

Alfred pennyworth was dead. Gone.

Jon knew it was true, cause he had felt Damian shake in his arms. He had seen his empty eyes. A dead super hero? Death was a revolving door in their business. If his father were to die, Jon knew he would go the end to the universe to bring him back and that he actually had good chances of succeeding. Heck, his father did die. Pretty much every member of the justice league died at some point. More than once.

But a man? A simple man? Even if it was one of the most remarkable man Jon had ever met, a man that had been able to raise _the_ batman, and many other outstanding crime fighting heroes, a man whose kindness and moral superiority was way beyond that of most people on earth...he was still just…a man. And death, for simple men of this earth was final.

No resurrections this time.

“Mum…” Jon whispered, his hands coming up to cover his eyes. They stung.

“I know, baby, I know. I’m so sorry”

She hugged him close, and his father’s strong arms soon followed.

He had missed this. So much.

He could feel their strength seeping trough him, and his heart swelling with it.

“I don’t know what to do”

“Be there for him”

_Like we’ll always be there for you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we goooo!  
> I got to admit one of the things that bothered me MOST about Bendis' run -except, of course, 17yo Jon- it's how dirty he did Lois. She is such a kick ass sweet mom and he turned into a scoop whore that would leave his son in space with a crazy old man to come back on earth without even telling his husband. You know, the man she loves? What the heck? and when her sons comes back she asks him for an headline? WHAT THE HECK BENDIS, WHAT THE BLOODY HECK.  
> Anyway. If you find typos pls do tell. I'm not native so...yeah. it could happen ^^''  
> (I'm so excited for chapter 3!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to share it!)


	3. I did say that all your ideas are brilliant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg guys, 80 kudos? I'm gonna cry T^T And you left such lovely comments!  
> So here is chapter 3! Get ready for the fluff! A bit of repose from the angst. But only a bit :)

Damian felt warm. So warm.

That shouldn’t be right. Last thing he remembered was …being surrounded by cold.

Cold headstones. Cold rain. Cold empty hands, kneeling on the frozen ground to grasp cold earth, a cold, calloused hand patting him on the shoulder.

Cold. SO cold.

He opened his eyes to find sun kissed skin in front of him.

Long black lashes falling on lightly freckled cheeks, framed by a mess of dark brown hair.

Jon.

He had gone to find Jon. Somehow. He didn’t really remembered doing that.

“TT”

He really shouldn’t have done that.

He should have just gone back to the manor, in his empty cold room, to hide until he felt like himself again. Until he could put his mask back on and go back to fly over the roofs of Gotham to take out his anger and sadness on someone who deserved it.

Not Jon. Never Jon. He deserved better than someone like him.

He had always known it but somehow he had tried to ignore it.

Jon was…the sun. The ever present, warm, golden sun. Perfect, good, strong, invincible.

And Damian…was a mistake. He was born because of treachery, raised to do evil, never really loved by anyone but for…

Sure, is father did love him, in his own twisted way. In the only way a man like him could love. But the one person that had showed him unconditional and uncomplicated love had been…

Damian squeezed his eyes shut. He would not cry. Never again.

He scooted closer to Jon, chasing his warmth.

Jon didn’t deserve to have to deal with the likes of him. But Damian was a selfish creature and would take all he could before Jon would inevitably push him away.

_Like everybody else has already done._

After a little bit he felt Jon stir and yawn, twitching the arm Damian had been using as a pillow.

“I swear to god Kent, if you say ‘hey’ another time I’ll bite you”

“Well, good morning to you grumpy pants”

“TT”

“So…” Jon started to say, and Damian braced for a question he wasn’t ready to answer yet.

“My parents are already out to work and we skipped dinner last night and now I’m starving, SO unless you want me to be the one to start doing the biting, we should get up and go fetch some breakfast”

At that Damian raised his head to a pair of really blue eyes way too close for comfort staring right back at him.

“Are you for real?”

“Am I for real for what?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?”

“Do you want to tell me why you’re here?”

“TT. Not really…”

“Then let’s just go and get breakfast, or I’ll really bite you”

And so to the kitchen they went.

“Just sit there and admire my mean pancake making skills, my feathery friend”

“Since when can you cook?”

“Ehy, I’m a farm boy remember? Of course I can cook!”

“The two things are completely unrelated”

“They are so not. Shut up city-boy. I am the master of pancakes with eggs and bacon”

“I’m a veg-“

“You’re a vegetarian, _I know._ Seven years aren’t enough to forget THAT. I’ve got tofu burgers waiting for you in the fridge”

“Why would you have tofu burgers? You’re not vegetarians”

“My mom bought them for you”

“…Your parents know I’m here?”

There was a note of disappointment in Damian’s voice.

“X-ray vision, remember? There’s no keeping secrets from my father. Why? Is that a problem?”

“…no. So when are they coming to pick me up?”

“Who? My parents?”

“No, I mean my…didn’t they call the manor to tell _them_ I’m here?”

“No. Should they have?”

“Hell no”

“Well then stop talking about it and go fetch those tofu burgers. They’re on the top shelf, as far away from the meat as I could keep them”

They worked in silence for a while after that.

Damian couldn’t help staring at Jon every chance he got. He couldn’t get used to this new Jon. The kryptonian had always been taller than him, by a few inches, but he had always looked unmistakably younger than him. The Jon he used to know still had chubby baby fat clinging to his features, and a childishness to his movements that Damian had found…endearing. Ridiculous, sure, but endearing.

All that was gone now. Jon looked sharp, powerful. A true superhero.

And there was that scar on his face. For some reason that scar really bothered him.

“How did you get that?” he ask suddenly, in the middle of chopping up strawberries “the scar?”

“This…?” Jon touched his face “I don’t remember, really”

“How can you not remember getting such a scar to the face? You’re supposed to be invulnerable”

“I met lots of things way more invulnerable than I am out there” he simply stated, without looking at him “like an evil version of my father named Ultraman, for example”

“…Ultraman” Damian deadpanned.

“Yeah, well, you don’t really want to know”

Damian actually found that he really did want to know. But didn’t push. If Jon wasn’t forcing him to talk about the elephant in the room he could extend the same kind of courtesy back to him as well.

“Enough of that now! Back to business! Try these pancakes and tell me if they aren’t the greatest gift to mankind! I could sell them!”

They did look rather fluffy.

“Sure. Just slap an ‘S’ on them and they’d sell like hot cakes right now”

“You mean ‘SUPERcakes’ oh my god, D, I think I’m on to something here!”

“Seriously, Kent? That was bad. Even for you” This was easy. This was natural. Damian didn’t think he could still have this.

It was exactly what he needed.

“So” Jon prompted between big bites of –strangely enough- delicious pancakes “what do you want to do? As a seventeen elementary school drop out I’ve actually got a LOT of free time at the moment! Wanna go find some bad guys to beat up?”

Damian looked out of the window, at Metropolis’ skyline, golden with sun light. The idea of hiding behind a mask and a dark hood seemed…unappealing at that moment.

“No…I… no. Let’s do…something else. You decide. Whatever is fine”

“Are you seriously leaving the choice with me? You could regret it!” Jon said with a smirk.

“I’m sure I will”

Jon felt extremely selfish. He couldn’t help it though. He was happy. No, he was absolutely giddy with contentment. This is something even his ten years old self would have thought a dream come true. He had had many adventures with Damian, incredible absurd things that only the sons of two superheroes could get into, but he never had _this_.

The sun up in the sky, Metropolis busying about her day around them, no masks, no capes, no monsters. People looking in on them would just see two normal teenagers hanging around.

Damian had demanded to go shopping for clothes first.

“I can’t be seen in Metropolis wearing your hands-me-down, Kent. It would be an embarrassment I wouldn’t recover from”

 _You seemed to find them pretty cosy just a few minutes ago_ Jon refrained from saying.

He had liked seeing Damian wearing his hoodie. For some reasons.

Thankfully, for once, Damian didn’t go for his usual prince of Gotham attire, choosing instead a much more normal pair of black fitting jeans with a black hoodie on top. And he demanded new shoes as well, refusing to wear the ones he had come with the day before. Jon couldn’t blame him. The things looked uncomfortable. Shiny, elegant and stiff. Shoes for a formal occasion.

_Like a funeral._

Right. They were going to have fun today. Jon would make sure of it.

They strolled around for a bit. Jon had missed the city. They went to the park and he even managed to drag Damian on a boat ride, which the other declared pointless and out dated “What’s the point of paying to take a mode of transportation and then using it to ride circle around an artificial lake?”

“It’s supposed to be romantic”

“I don’t get it”

“That’s because you’re not romantic”

“I can be plenty romantic!”

“Oh, really?” Jon stared pointedly at him, baiting his eye lashes.

Damian pushed him in the lake.

Thank goodness for super speed. It dries your clothes pretty fast.

*+*

“Oh, come on! This game has got to be rigged!” Jon yelled at the machine, while it dutifully returned the arm to its initial position.

“Or maybe you’re just THAT bad at it”

“Sure cause of course you’d be amazing at it”

“Want to bet”  
“No, I really, REALLY don’t”

“Coward. Let’s move on. It’s a waste of time”

“But I really, REALLY wanted that thing”

“Why would you need such a thing??”

“Look at it!!! It’s adorable!”

Damian looked at it.

“It look absolutely dumb. And frankly insulting” he stated, staring critically at the pile of superhero themed tsun tsun.

“That’s because you’re a no fun all business guy with no eye for the cute stuff. I want that superman one so bad. I NEED IT”

Damian sighed. “Move over”

He put tokens in the machine and took the controls in hand “turn the other way. I don’t want you stealing my secrets”

“Fine. But hacking the machine is cheating, just so you know”

Jon turned around to stare at the colourful retro arcade they had got to next. He had wanted to go crazy in this kind of place since forever. It reminded him of the Hamilton county fair. The games sure as hell were just as rigged as the ones over there.

“There you go” Damian said behind him, pushing something soft and furry against his face.

“You got it?? Oh my god, thanks a l---ehy, wait a second!” he pulled back the toy to stare at it carefully.

A robin Tsun tsun was staring right back.

“I wanted a superman one!”

“This one is better”

“It doesn’t even look like you! It’s all cute and round and it’s smiling! It’s an impostor robin. The robin I know doesn’t know how to smile. He can only smirk and do the evil grin. It’s a fake!”

That evil grin was taunting right at that very moment. Oh. It was on.

“Best one at most games wins! If I win, you get me the superman tsun tsun!”

“You wish Kent. If _I_ win, you get to keep the robin one. Every better, I’m gonna get you the whole jolly bat family”

It was so on.

At the end thy got kicked out. But not before gathering a whole crowd to cheer them on. Who knew Damian would so good at DDR. Apparently Robin got moves.

“What am I even going to do with all these?” Jon lamented, carrying seven bat themed tsun tsuns in his arms.

“TT. If that employee hadn’t butted in I would have got all of them. I can’t believe they don’t have an Orphan one in the lot and yet there where three Red Hood ones. It must be cause no one wants them. Who would want such an idiot on their bed after all. I sure wouldn’t”.

 _Yet you got one_ Jon stopped himself from saying.

He had never met the Red Hood. But he knew he and Damian didn’t have the best of relationships. Damian didn’t have the best relationship with most of his brothers.

“Well. I’m gonna speed at home to drop all of these and in the mean time you wait here for a second and think where to go to next”

He was about to jump off when he felt Damian grab his jacket.

“I have a better idea”

“I got to say, you really are a genius, sometimes”

“Sometimes?”

“Yeah well…I can recall one or two occasions when you were less than brilliant”  
That got him a Tsun tsun straight to the face.

Jon just laughed and added it to the pile already pillowing his head. He already had a batgirl and one…Signal? _Have they finally ran out of bat-themed names?_

He closed his eyes to enjoy the light breeze. The weather had completely turned from the day before. The blue sky covered them like a blanket, the temperature way too mild for a early February afternoon.

“I’m just kidding, all of your ideas are brilliant. This one just happens to be my favourite”

He got no answer.

He turned to look at the other boy, to find him staring right back. From their position lying on the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Metropolis, all he could see was Damian’s face and the blue and white sky beyond.

He hadn’t felt so much at piece for a long, long time.

“You know what happened” Damian said, his face blank.

“I…my parents told me, when they got back after you fell asleep…”

Damian went back to stare at the moving clouds.

“D…I’m so sor-“

The other stopped him with a finger to his mouth.

As soon as he was sure Jon wasn’t going to speak he retracted his hand to stroke the head of the Nightwing tsun tsun he was clutching to his chest.

“I was there you know. When it happened”

Jon didn’t know what to say. He just listened.

“I was there, tied to a chair like an idiot and I did nothing. When B-Bane b-broke” he squeezed the toy until his knuckles turned white “He…he wouldn’t have died if I hadn’t gone there-”

“D you can’t know that”

“I DO. He…he had lied to us. A…ALFRED. He lied to father. He sent him a message saying that he was safe. That we could get in the cavern to get the manor back, to not worry for him anymore cause he had escaped and he was SAFE, but he wasn’t! Father sent me in to be captured and act from the inside to let the family in …and I woke up to Bane. GOD, JON” he covered his face with the soft plushie, his breathing ragged, and Jon couldn’t take it anymore. He lifted him from the blanket and cradled him between his legs, rocking back and forth. Damian wasn’t crying, but his whole body was taut like a string ready to snap.

“D…Dami…it’s not your fault. It’s not!

“He was staring at me, Jon. I’d never seen him so afraid before. And he kept… he kept begging Bane, his voice so small ‘please not here, not in front of the b-boy, JON, I…I c-couldn’t-I”

“It’s not your fault, D, it’s not your fault. He made his choice. He did it because he loved you. All of you”

“BUT I DIDN’T WANT HIM TO. HE SOULD HAVE LET THE HEROING TO US, HE WASN’T-HE”

Damian had lifted himself to his own two knee, and had pushed Jon off him in order to grab his t-shirt and scream at his face.

“He…wasn’t… I…”

Then his anger seemed to leave him all at once and he fell back into Jon, who was ready to catch him.

“I miss him, Jon. I miss him so much. I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I can stay in that tomb of a house without him. I…”

Jon started to stroke trough the black short strands of hair, inhaling a faint smell of burnt amber he had come to associate with Damian.

“Your father is still there, isn’t he? And the rest of the family! Your brothers…” Damian let out a mocking sound at that “yeah, sure. You can really count on my brothers”

“D… I’m sure they would be glad to help if you were to ask them… Dick cares about you a lot! You know he does!”

“I don’t really want to talk about Dick at the moment”

“But-“

“In fact, I think I’m done talking, let’s both shut up”

“…”

“Let’s just stay here, and not talk, and just…just…”

He pushed towards Jon until he fell back on the blanket, Damian on top of him.

This was all so weird. It was something out of their depts, out of their usual paths and yet it felt completely and utterly right.

At that moment the only things that existed was the two of them, their close heartbeats and their intertwined limbs.

“Let’s just stay here, for a while”

“I did say that all of your ideas are brilliant”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then. What do you think? I actually rally want to draw that scene at the end. with all the tsun tsun. And I want batfamily tsun tsuns.  
> In case you are wondering about what Jon said about Dick... he doesn't know anything about all the Ric Grayson crap. I don't think he would. It will be addressed later. Cause I'm really salty about it.  
> Anyway, tomorrow we are getting the new installment in Bendis story of doom! Who is scared about it? ME. I'M SCARED ABOUT IT. How much do you bet that it won't even mention Alfred's death and Damian will just be all happy and quirky. Like Bendis seems to think he is, such a funny little ball of sunshine that just dresses like a traffic light for the lols, apparently.  
> Next chapter will come on Friday (sorry, I'm too busy on Thursday) and it called "Family"  
> tan-tan-taaaaaaaan. A certain father of the year will make an appereance!


	4. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A hundred kudos??? For real? I'm CRYING. And you left so many lovely comments T^T  
> I really needed them, especially after that train wreck of a new chapter from the legion of superheroes. I HATE IT. I HATE TO HELL AND BACK AND I WANT TO PUNCH EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE LEGION IN THE FACE. Such originality, Bendis, cause we never heard the take "oh, my god, Damian is evil" before. So original, good job. I HATE.  
> Anyway. Here is a new chapter... in case you are not familiar with the Ric Grayson crap go to the end notes where I'll put a small summary. (not much to tell, really) cause it's addressed here at some point.  
> Here we go :)

The sun was getting low when Jon tapped Damian on the shoulder. 

He didn’t really want to get up, but it was turning too chilly to stay on the rooftop.

He reluctantly stood up, extending a hand to help Damian up. 

As soon as the other boy was standing he let go of the hand like it burned, putting his own in his pocket. 

That was a pattern that Jon already knew well, but the latest events had made it even more starkly obvious: the closer Damian allowed people to get to him, the harder he pushed back after…that was just how Damian was. 

Jon’s hand felt empty.

“Let’s go back” he said gathering up the plushies scattered around.

They walked silently for a while, until they started to get close to the Kent’s apartment and Jon stopped frozen in his path.

“What? Jon, what is it?” Damian asked in mild alarm, his whole body tensed up for action. “Is someone in danger?”

“No…it’s not that…”

_“I want to know where he is!”_

_“And I’m telling you I don’t know! They are just in Metropolis, hanging around, you know, like normal teenagers! Stop being so paranoid for once-“_

“Ah, crap…”

“What??”

“Your dad… he is in our apartment… fighting with my dad, apparently”

Damian scowled, his hands balling into fists.

“We can go somewhere else, if you want. You don’t have to see him” _I’ll keep you safe, even from him, if you’d let me._

“No, it’s fine. Let’s hurry…before our dads destroy said apartment” Damian said instead, and started running. 

When they got to right floor, their voices could be heard from the door. 

“They might as well shout it from the rooftops, the idiots…” Damian muttered. 

_“You should have called him as soon as he got here! I’m his father!”_ a very familiar voice was shouting.

_“He needed a place to calm down a little and to be with his best friend for a while”_ Jon’s father’s voice was trying to reason back.

_“HE NEEDS HIS FAMILY”_

_“The same family that didn’t realize that he had slipped away under the rain to WALK all the way to Metropolis?”_

_“HOW DARE YOU, YOU SENT YOUR SON TO SPACE ALONE WITH YOUR DERANGED ALIEN FATHER”_

_“Enough the both of you, you’re both going too far!”_ Lois’ voice intervened, in a placating manner.

Jon hadn’t even realized that his hand had grasped Damian’s until he felt the other tag at it. 

“Let’s go” he said, opening the door. 

Lois had had enough. As soon as they had seen the sleek black car parked in front of their complex she knew that it would have ended up like this. Her husband and his best friend had many ideas they shared, as well as their sense of justice and morality, but one thing that they sure as hell didn’t have in common was their parenting style. 

In a just a few minutes, no matter how much she had tried to make them act like civilized people, the two men had quickly come to shouting, and would have probably progressed to blows if the door hadn’t opened to reveal their sons standing in the doorway, and –to her surprise and delight- holding hands. 

Was that a pile of…plushies at their feet?

Clark and Bruce’s matching angry expressions turned to sheepishness as soon as they registered their arrival. 

“Jon, ermh…welcome back, you both had a nice day?” Clark tried with a fake smile, as if he hadn’t been shouting murder at the other man a few seconds before.

“Damian…” Bruce whispered at the same time, reaching with a hand towards his son only to then stop, uncertain.

The boy just stood there, looking at his father with that blank expression Lois had always found…disturbing. 

It had been one of the things that at first had made her hesitant about her son’s friendship with the young Wayne, but whit time she had realized that it was nothing more than a defense mechanism. They boy wasn’t actually emotionless as he’d like others to think. If anything, he was actually really passionate and vulnerable, he was just really good at hiding it.

Just like his father.

Said father that was, in fact, looking back with a similar blank expression.

“Father” Damian saluted back, and the room fell to silence. 

Once again the responsibility to dissipate the awkwardness was a woman’s job. 

“Weeeeell, then. I was about to order pizza! You are staying with us of course, Bruce!” she announced in a voice that didn’t accept no for an answer “Clark and Jon can go pick it up, I’ll go to the kitchen to make some appetizers and in the mean time you and Damian can, you know. Talk” Yes. That was a perfect plan! Except…

“I’m not leaving Damian” Her son stated looking mutinous. 

“Yes you are, kiddo. Leave the two of them alone to talk. They need it” she gave him a look. 

He gave her one back. 

“No”

_Oh, great._

Her first disagreement with her now teenaged son was about to come at the worst possible moment.

“Jon…” 

“I don’t want Jon to leave either” Damian said. 

_Well_

“It’s a family matter” Bruce intervened. The anger that had subsided at Damian’s appearance was now coming back at full force. There went all her effort. 

“There is nothing I don’t wish for him to know or that he doesn’t know already. You can talk with him present, I’m going to tell him everything after anyway”

That was knew. And if Bruce’s dark expression was any indication, not exactly welcome.

“How do you even know you can trust him? He’s not the same kid you used to know, his powers must be fully developed now. And who knows what his mental state is after so many years on his own?” 

Lois sighed. There was no helping Bruce now. He was digging his own grave and there was no stopping him either. Damn the old bat and his impossible mistrust in humanity. (And aliens alike)

“Now, Bruce” Clark started, his own switch flipped on again. 

“You’re right. He’s not the same” Damian said “But I do trust him. He IS family. To me, that is. He is” 

Lois watched as her son’s eyes widened with an emotion she almost recognized, yet had never seen on his face before. Her heart swelled and burned at the same time. 

Bruce seemed to see something in his son’s eyes as well, cause his shoulders dropped and he sighed.

“Fine…”

As soon as he was left alone with Damian and THE batman, Jon felt the weight of his acts. Had he _really_ done that? Said no to her mother and to Batman at the same time? He wasn’t sure which one was scarier. He half expected the man to take out a piece of kryptonite and show it up his-

Damian led him to the sofa, and they both sat down at the same time, their hands still linked. 

That wasn’t even the most baffling thing of this whole affair. 

Damian’s words kept echoing in his head, over and over. Had he really said that? 

_He IS family. To me._

_He is family._

_To me._

_Family._

If there was something he knew about Damian is that family was a big deal in his eyes. The biggest deal, actually, and that he didn’t accept new members in it that easily. Yet he had said to his father’s face. _His father._ The only actual blood related member of his family he had left –not counting his crazy mum- he had said that to _him_.

He shook his head slightly to focus back on the conversation. Or better, the lack of one.

The two Waynes were just staring at each other. 

_Well, that’s awkward._

He squeezed Damian’s hand a little - _I’m here for you-_ he wished he could say.

Damian squeezed back and let go, to cross his arms in front of him. With a hard expression and an even colder voice he said “Well?”

Bruce sighed again. If he wasn’t totally on Damian’s side on this, he would even feel bad for the man. 

“Damian. You can’t… That is to say, I’d prefer it if you didn’t disappeared on us like that, without even leaving a note, not after everything that has happened”.

“Why? I’ve been with you for four years, I do this all the time”

“And I worry every time!”

“You do not…Alfred did. What, now that you don’t have him to check on me you’d prefer me to stay put, so that I can stay out of your hair?”

_Ouch_

Jon winced. Now he was definitely feeling bad for the man. Damian was many things, but kind with words, he was not. Not when he didn’t want to.

Mr Wayne didn’t bite back, however, which Jon found surprising. He just looked… sad. Defeated. It wasn’t a look Jon liked on him. 

“I guess I deserved that…”

Damian squirmed in his seat a bit. 

“Please, Damian. I know I have not…always been …the best father. Not like—not like _he_ has been to me. Not remotely. I could _never_ hope to be…but I…” he seemed to brace himself for a second “I want to try. If there is one thing I have understood after all this is that…I CAN’T. I can’t do this alone. I have never been able to. I need you all by my side. I need you. I need my son with me”

“I am not going to resign my position as Robin, father” 

“I’m not talking about just that! This… this is not Batman talking, Damian…it’s me. Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne, who doesn’t want to give up any more members of his family. He’s lost enough. Not anymore”

_Well. That was a speech and a half._

Damian had gone silent, opening his mouth only to close it again without saying anything. 

“I…alright. Fine. I…alright”

Jon smiled. He stood up abruptly, clapping on his tights. “Well, then, I think I’m going to see if dinner is ready?” the two bats didn’t seem to hear him at all. He left them to their own devices. As he went to the kitchen to find his mother and apologize just a little for his behaviour earlier, he could hear Damian stand up and quickly walk to the armchair his father was sitting at, followed by the sound of fabrics sliding against each other and Damian’s slight hitched breath. 

His smile widened. 

Dinner was, all in all, an awkward affair. His father was obviously still mad at Mr Wayne, even if it seemed like his anger was less strong than before. He had probably listened in their conversation too. 

Damian and his father were even quieter than they usually were. They where being civil to each other though, so things could be worse. 

When it was time to leave, Damian’s father didn’t try to tell Damian to come with him, so apparently they had come to an agreement about that. 

“I’d like to stay here for the night again” Damian said, looking at Jon’s parents “If that’s not too much trouble. Tomorrow I’ll go back home” and at that he turned to look at Jon “I promised Jon I’d help with assembling that monstrosity of a bed he has ordered…”

Damian had promised him no such thing. Jon’s face light up nonetheless. “Right. You own me one anyway”

“I own you nothing, Kent” 

“You ruined my budding room interior decorating stuffing it full of bat-themed tsun tsuns”

The adults quirked a brow at that, but said nothing. 

Mr Wayne left soon after, with a promise to see Damian back at the manor the following day. 

“Well, then!” Lois said clapping her hands together. “You’ve got a bed to construct. Unless you want to share the couch tonight”

Jon wanted to groan a little. 

“Who is the idiot that invented Ikea assembling instructions?” Damian spat out, turning the page upside down for the tenth time. 

“And why did you have to pick such a complicated one? A military style bed would have been just fine for the purpose. Not this monstrosity!”

Jon felt affronted. “Do you have a military style bed at the manor?” he asked, thinking back at the elegant décor of Damian’s room “No. Your bed probably costs more than my entire house! So why should I get a crappy bed? Plus you’re supposed to be a detective. What would the world say if it knew that the great Robin can’t figure out simple Ikea instructions?”

“TT. There is nothing simple here! I was raised to fight evil, not build overly complicated horrible ‘Brimnes’ beds! What kind of name even is that? Why would you need drawers under your bed? To hide the corpses of your enemies?”

“What is wrong with you? Plus not everyone has a walk in closet bigger that an average sized apartment. I need space for clothes and stuff”

“And stuff? Under your bed? Should I watch out for you hiding risqué magazines-” 

“DAMIAN” Jon shouted, turning beat red.

“What? I know that Richard did that when he was your age.” Damian said with ease, as if he was going to throw himself into a story, but then seemed to catch himself, flinching.

Jon watched him, as he quickly tried to change the topic, picking up two random pieces and showing them together.

“There. I think this is right” 

The pieces fell sadly on the floor with a dull thud.

“About your brother Dick…”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it”

“But-”

“I will hit you with this, Kent” Damian threatened him, holding up what was probably a piece of the headboard. Probably.

Jon sighed, slumping back on his hands “Please don’t. It would only break and then putting this thing together would really be impossible. At this rate we’re gonna sleep on the floor tonight”

“I’m taking the couch” 

“Jeez, thanks for the leap of faith. Come on, we can make it! We are the freaking super sons, we can’t be defeated by an Ikea bed!”

“I didn’t mean that. I’m taking the couch anyway”

Jon paused.

“…why? This bed is big enough! It’s way bigger than my old one and we sleep just fine in it!”

“I wouldn’t want to impose” Damian said without looking up from the instructions he seemed to be studying intently.

“You wouldn’t! You didn’t! D, I don’t m-”

Damian shut him up with a look. A look he remembered well. It said ‘Stop. Unapproachable territory’ and it used to be this impossible to breach wall that sometimes rose between them when he had still been a child and Damian had looked like some kind of mysterious creature with a dark past behind him that Jon couldn’t possibly understand. 

But Jon wasn’t ten anymore. 

“I mean it, D. I don’t mind. I… I like having you in my bed” 

_What the freak are you saying Jonathan Samuel Kent_

_“_ I MEAN!” Jon corrected himself immediately “I mean, I don’t mind it. You don’t snore! You don’t even snatch the blankets! You sleep like a corpse actually!” 

Damian frowned at that.

Y _eah, sure Kent, tell the guy in mourning he sleeps like the dead, great move_

“I MEAN. Peacefully. Peacefully, like the dead. I mean…you know what I mean…” Jon wanted to hit himself. Like he did when they were escaping from future Drake. He should call Kidflash and ask for help to knock himself out.

Damian’s mouth twitched for a second.

“Yeah, I would know. I have been dead before, remember?”

Jon did actually slap his face in his hands this time. 

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I know” Damian had a hint of a smile on his face now “but I’ll pass. The couch will do just fine”

Jon wanted to protest more, but didn’t. He knew pushing Robin was never a good idea. 

That night Jon kept turning and tossing in his big, empty bed. Empty except for himself of course. Which should have been the norm. It was soft and plush, he was surrounded by squishy pillows, and it was all he had been dreaming of during his captivity in space. And yet. It smelled wrong. It felt too big. It felt too soft. I felt…

He gave out a big sigh. He was being stupid. He closed his eyes and willed himself to stay put. He concentrated on his breathing and focused on the noises around himself, to find something to distract and lull him to sleep. 

Cars were honking down the street. A dog was barking in an apartment a couple of blocks over. His mother was in her study, typing away. She was chewing…on a pencil. A tv was on a few floors blow them, some kind of night show on. The host was making fun of some politician… and… and an heartbeat was beating way too fast just in the living room down the corridor. 

_No way, Jonathan Kent. You’ll end up suffocating him. He needs space. And you can give him just that. Space. Cause you are a responsible, reasonable adult, now._

He could hear the leather of the couch squeaking under the movement of a restless body. Was Damian awake? Was he thinking about meeting his family the following day? Or maybe he about some criminal case he was working on. 

Maybe Jon could just go to fetch a glass of water and maybe check on him, just to be sure, just to be a good host…

“No way, Kent” he said aloud, actually shaking his head “behave yourself” 

He turned on his side, only to find the Robin Tsun tsun staring at him with his fake smile. He hugged it to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on the fake laughter of the night show from two floors below. He needed to sleep.

He had almost succeeded in emptying his mind and falling into a sort of stupor when he heard it. 

A whisper, the grinding of teeth, hands grabbing a blanket, a sob…and he was out of bed in a flash and down the corridor in the beat of a heart.

Damian had fallen asleep pretty quickly, the exhaustion of the last few days catching up to him and dragging him under, even though the Kent’s couch wasn’t the most comfortable place he had ever slept on (it was far from the worst either).

He didn’t know when he actually fell unconscious and the confused landscape of his scattered thoughts turned into something darker…but one second he was distractedly wondering what time it was and the next one he was standing in the bat cave, alone. He knew it was a dream, the world around him had the typical vague blurry edges he had trained himself to recognize. He walked around for a bit, searching for something he wasn’t sure of. As far as his dreams went this was pleasant enough. Until it wasn’t. A single step brought him in an awfully familiar sitting room, his body, previously standing was now tied to a chair. “NO. Not this again!” He tried to scream, but couldn’t. He couldn’t see. His domino mask’s lenses black and impenetrable. He tried to scream, but he was paralyzed. A feeble voice was whispering in front of him, he could catch only a few words. “Please, not in front of the boy”Then a crack. He wanted to SCREAM. NOT AGAIN. He finallyfreed his hands to tear his mask away…only to find Richard, tied to a chair, his neck bent in a horrible angle. On top of him not Bane, but Ric Grayson, with his short hair and scraggly beard, looking at him with empty eyes. “Who are you?” He was asking. Damian stepped back, terrorized, turned and run, but his path was blocked by his father. He had no pity in his eyes, he was looking at him like he was the scam of the earth “How could you do this, Damian?” “It wasn’t me!” he wanted to yell, but couldn’t. “How could you to that to them?” Bruce insisted, pointing behind Damian. He turned, but the scene behind him had changed. Bodies littered the floor, his green boots squelching on a pool of red blood. Alfred, Timothy, Steph, Kate, Duke, Helena, even Jason, all dead. A hole between their eyes. Damian looked at his hands, they were red with blood. He did scream then. He screamed and screamed, until he couldn’t breath, until his voice failed him and everything hurt, so much, it hurt so much…

“Damian”

“it wasn’t me, father”

“Damian!” 

“I’m sorry!”

“DAMIAN!”

Damian opened his eyes, with a jolt, throwing himself at his opponent, ready to topple them to the floor and hit them with all he got. All he managed to do however, was hurting himself by bumping his forehead on something as hard as granite. 

“Easy, there! Are you ok?” A voice said on top of him. A voice he knew well. 

“No. I think I cracked my skull” he croaked back.

“…you didn’t actually do that, right? Cause that would be a problem”

“No, you dolt. But it was a near thing. What are you doing looming over me like that”

Jon let him go then and Damian managed to sit up.

His friend looked…sheepish. 

“I…needed to use the bathroom”

“You are a terrible liar”

“D…”

“I’m fine. Go back to sleep”

“You are not-“

“I.AM.FINE.”

They glared daggers at each others, both of them unwilling to give up first, when the light turned on seemingly by itself.

“What’s going on, boys?” Lois asked from her study’s door. She was clutching a book to her chest and seemed ready to go to her room to sleep. “Something the matter?”

“No, Mrs Kent. Nothing’s wrong I apologize if we disturbed you” 

“You did no such thing” she said, still looking at them suspiciously “you sure everything is fine?” She seemed to be asking that to her son in particular.

“Yes, ma” Jon finally conceded “I only wanted to drink something, I’ll go back to sleep now”

He stood up and went back to his room, his shoulders slumped.

It was an hour later, and well into the night that Jon heard the faintest knock on the door. Faint enough that a normal human, especially if asleep, would have never heard it. 

Jon was wide awake, however, and far from normal. He said nothing, deciding to remain with his back turned from the door, holding his breath.

With the smallest amount of noise possible the door to his room opened and a small dark figure entered. A few seconds later Jon felt his bed dip, and the cover lift to allow a warm presence to slip behind his back. 

He felt Damian’s head bump against his shoulder blades, Damian’s hot breath whispering against his skin trough his thin t-shirt.

“Your couch is damn uncomfortable, Kent. And your fridge is too loud. How can you stand it?” 

Jon couldn’t contain a grin from spreading across his face “we poor peasants are used to our lowly means. We are adaptable”

“It’s outrageous. I pity you”

“Is this accommodation more to your liking, my liege?”

“Well. It’s not exactly memory foam but it is…acceptable”

“Glad to hear it”

“Go to sleep, Kent”

“Mh…good night Damian”

“…good night Jon”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, about Ric Grayson, basically Dc decided to ruin one his most loved characters by having his shot to the head and forgetting who he is. So he now (and hopefully not for long anymore) goes by the name Ric and refuses to listen to anyone that tries to talk to him. Since DC IS CURRENTLY STUPID, the only member of the family that even tried to talk to him are Barbara and Alfred. which is bullshit cause the real Damian would have hunted him to hell and back if he were to forget him. but well. That's what we have to work with.  
> Anyway. What do you think about this chapter? i know that the slow burn is really slow, but it's Damian. he is emotionally constipated. Next chapters things will start to move faster. We're finally going to meet the batfamily! And shit will start to go down. I mean, they are superheroes, their enemies can't stay silent for too long. Next chapter will come either Sunday or Monday, no later than that :)  
> UPDATE(20/01/20): No chapter on Monday. I'm sorry. It will come soon but right now...I don't feel like writing or finding joy in this cause I had a death in my family. I need a few days. I'm writing this here instead of just delaying the chapter cause I care very much about this story and I've very thankful for the people reading it. Chapter 5 will come in a few days... 💜


	5. What even is he to you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here I am again. Sorry again for the longer wait. I'm in a tough spot. It kind of sucks, actually, but as I said, this fic is my happy place, and gods know I need some happiness right now.  
> So there we go. I actually love this chapter a lot. Like, a lot. At first many more things were supposed to happened in chapter 5 but then I decided to focus on fewer of them and leave the others for the next chapters. So I promised enemies, but we still got none.  
> There is one important "revelation" at the end tho :)  
> enjoy <3

Jon woke up with an impending problem.

He felt his face turn beet red, and he subtly tried to shit away from Damian's sleeping form. He would have died of embarrassment if his friends were to wake up and realize....

He shimmied out of his bed and rolled to the floor, feeling like the most idiotic ninja. Thankfully Damian seemed to be still deep asleep, curled on his side with the most adorable relaxed expression... 

_NOPE_. 

He needed to extricate himself from this extremely awkward predicament. He succeeded into leaving his room and flashed himself to the bathroom.

He gave out the biggest sigh while sitting himself on the toilet closed lid.

Think boring thoughts. Think about alien invasions. Think about your old math teacher. Think about BATMAN. A shiver of pure dread run down his back at that. That was one terrifying thought. The dark knight would skin him alive with a kryptonite knife if he were to know-

"Jonno? You in there?"

_Crap_. "MOM?" he called out with an undignified screech.

"...yes? Everything ok?"

"YES! I mean, yes. I'm fine!I'm great! I'm absolutely dope at the moment!"

_I'm absolutely ranting and I needed to stop two sentences ago, freakity-frack, shut the fuck up Jonathan Samuel Kent!_

"Aaaaalright" his mum said "are you coming out anytime soon?" She added after a pause.

_Well, isn’t that the question of the century._

Jon flushed and looked down. He found that thinking of batman together with being nearly discovered by his mum did wonders to solve his problem.

"Yup. I was just leaving" he called back with the most casual tone he could muster. 

When he opened the door he found himself face to face with his mother's smirk.

"You sure you're ok?"

"Yup. Never been better” he repeated, nodding like a bobble head.

"Uh- uh" he mother answered disbelievingly without moving from her position blocking the corridor.

"Didn't you need to use the bathroom? I wouldn't want to keep you and risk you getting late to work” Jon tried. 

"It's Sunday, kiddo"

"Right"

They stared at each others for a bit longer.

Jon wanted to dig himself to the center of the earth. He probably could, too.

"Soooo, I'll go start breakfast…?" He asked, his voice getting smaller and his smile getting dimmer. This was turning worst and worst by the second.

"Where is Damian, Jon? The couch is empty"

_Great._

"Well, he was uncomfortable so he moved to my room"

"And you gallantly gave up your new bad to him? How noble"

"Weeeell, no. The bed is big enough, anyway..."

His mother raised an eyebrow.

"You know, I didn't say anything yesterday cause things were complicated enough, but maybe we should talk"

_Or maybe not. HOW ABOUT NO._

"Suuuure... umhh, about about when after I get back from the manor"

_How about never._

"Alright, you can escape for now young man. But we are talking about this"

"Okay"

_On my dead body._

"Okay"

"Yeah. Are you moving or...."

She moved.

“Behave at the manor”

Jon froze one step away from the kitchen door “…what do you mean?” What did she think he was going to do???

“They are probably all going to be there, you know. Just try not to… antagonize anyone too much. Like yesterday. I would be all kinds of awkward if you were to anger one of his many brothers. I know some of them haven’t the easiest of tempers”

“I won’t ‘antagonize’ anyone. Who do you take me for? I’ll be the perfectly civil guest” _As long as they are all perfectly civil to Damian_ he didn’t add, but he had the feeling he didn’t need to. 

“I believe you” she simply said, kissing him on the cheek. 

She almost had to stretch up to do that now. Weird.

The manor’s mahogany door loomed over them. Why did a house need a door so big? Jon wondered. Why do someone even need a _house_ so big. _To fill it up with teenaged vigilantes_ Jon supplied. He shuddered. He hadn’t thought about it much before his stilted conversation with his mother, but now that he had the thought of finding himself alone in a room full of bats -Damian included- was starting to make him nervous. It wasn’t the idea that they could hurt him -which they most definitely could, Damian had made pretty clear that they had a quite sizable collection of kryptonite to their disposal- no, it was… well, he didn’t know most of them very well. He had met Dick a few times, and Tim once, but that was it. He had heard Damian curse “the red hood” more than once and mutter something about a “fat girl” bothering him. He knew that there was another sister which Damian seemed to like better than the others, but that was all. That made, what? Four of them? Five? He could deal with five angry, grief stricken bats, he figured. After all, he wasn’t here to fight. He was here to support Damian. 

He could do this. 

The man opening the door, was, quite obviously, not Alfred. Damian seemed to flinch at that. Jon wanted to hold his hand again, but Damian was keeping his firmly held in the front pockets of his hoodie. 

“Hello, Fox”

“Hello, Damian. Hello, Mr Kent. Everyone is waiting for you! They are in the main sitting room”

To Jon’s surprise the room the man led them to was a small room Jon had never entered before, lit by big windows from which you could see Gotham’s skyline in the distance. It had books lining two of the walls and a clutter of sofas and armchairs in the middle. All of them were occupied. 

There were far more than five people waiting for them. 

The one familiar face Jon was hoping to recognize was missing, as Dick’s friendly smile was nowhere to be seen. Tim was there, his hair a bit shorter than he remembered, his face even paler. A pretty blonde girl was sitting beside him, her hand on his. Standing behind them by one of the windows was a really angry looking man, his arms crossed and his face scowling. The red hood? On Ono of the couches there was another girl, which was all curled up with her arms hugging her knees and her black pixie like hair covering her downcast face. She was being held by an extremely pale woman with short red hair and scary eyes. Jon hadn’t even known that there were so many girls in Damian’s family. Two more were sitting together on a two settee, one of them with red long hair and glassed, and then of course there was an older woman who must be Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. 

Last, and looking straight at them was Bruce Wayne, standing behind an armchair in which there was yet another person Jon didn’t know. An African American boy with smart eyes. He at least, seemed to be just as uncomfortable as Jon felt, for some reasons. 

Damian stepped into the room with his head held high, his back getting straighter, like he was getting ready for combat. “Hello, father” he said, looking straight at Mr Wayne and no one else. “Did you want to talk to me?” He asked with the monotone, formal voice that Jon hated when turned towards him. He had the feeling that the rest of the people in the room felt the same. 

“I-yes. I did. I wanted us all together and reunited, to… honor…he would have wanted us to be together like this” Damian’s father said in an almost uncertain manner. It still felt really strange to see the impenetrable Batman acting so…human. Jon felt almost guilty witnessing it. Like he should n’t be there. He braced himself. Damian wanted him there. He needed him there. 

He felt Damian scoff. 

_Uh-oh_

_“_ TT. As I recall it, we were all there, that night. And by _we,_ I mean everyone who still deserves to be a part of this family-“

“Damian!” Mr Wayne warned him, but Damian went on, his voice getting louder to be heard over his father’s.

“WE were all there! **I** was there! We all fought to try to protect our home, all but those who apparently had better to do than fight to protect the one man who has always been there for us-” 

“I DIDN’T KNOW!” The man by the window suddenly shouted, his face a mask of pure pain and fury “You think I wouldn’t have run here if anyone had bothered to tell me that Alfred was in danger-”

“We tried, YOU DIDN’T LISTEN, TOO CAUGHT UP IN YOUR USUAL BULLSHIT-” Damian was full-on shouting now, and several people tried to react, posing themselves between the two opponents.

“Now, Damian” Tim started it, standing up to put a steading hand on the red Hood’s clenching fist.

“It all happened so fast, and Jason didn’t really know how bad it was!” 

“Don’t you dare try to defend him, Drake!” 

“BOYS” Mr Wayne interjected. 

Everyone fell silent again. 

Mr Wayne sighed, and Miss Kyle came to stand by his side.

“Damian, Jason’s not the one to blame, not entirely. It’s on me”

“FATHER” 

“NO. LISTEN” 

Damian closed his mouth again, his teeth grinding with the effort. 

“Ever since this thing started I’ve been pushing all of you away. It’s on me. If I hadn’t tried to do it all alone … who knows, things would have been different. I want to try and change that. Please, all of you” he turned to the angry man, Jason, at that “Please, let’s all try to make an effort to finally leave the past behind and be the family Alfred wanted us to be, together” 

Jason turned to look out of the window, biting his bottom lip. 

“We are not though” Damian muttered, almost whispering. “We are not all together. We will never be. Not without…”

“Ah, about that!” Bruce actually smiled at that,“there was another reason why I wanted you all here. A reason to rejoice, after so much pain” 

Then he turned to Mr Fox, which was standing quietly aside from the drama of it all. 

“If you may, Lucius”

Lucius Fox gave a small smile and exited the room trough a door opposite front the one they had entered from. 

“Bruce…?” The woman with the long red hair asked, confused “what…what is this about?”

The door opened again before he could answer, and then many things happened at once.

Everyone stood up at the same time, some of them actually toppling the armchair they were sitting on. Jon was so startled that at first he had the absurd instinct to shield Damian with his body. Thankfully he didn’t do it, cause as soon as he turned to look at the man everyone was now crowding by the door, he finally found the one face he was missing. 

He looked…a bit different however. The long soft waves of hair he remembered were now short, cut roughly close to the scalp. He had a few scrapes on his face, and was wearing clothes that looked quite the far cry to the elegantly tailored ones the Waynes seemed to prefer. 

Dick Grayson was back. 

For some reason everyone had rushed to greet him, many of them actually throwing themselves in his arms. Even angry Jason had walked to clasp his arm. Dick was smiling and soaking up the attention like a plant soaking up the sun, his face flushed and his eyes wet with tears. 

Jon was just starting to wonder what he was missing -had he been lost in some mission? Had he been hurt? Or alien abducted? Everything was possible in their line of work- when he felt Damian take a step back, bumping back against his chest with his elbow. 

Where everyone else had rushed forward in their effort to be the first one to welcome the man, Damian seemed to have had the opposite reaction. He had physically recoiled back. 

Jon was on high alert in a millisecond, his hand coming to grasp Damian’s arm in what he hoped was registered as a grounding support, and not an impending attack. He didn’t fancy being flipped over his panicking friend’s back at the moment. 

He could feel Damian’s heart beating too fast, his arm shaking a bit. Jon wished he knew what was going on. He felt powerless, not knowing what was making Damian feel like that. 

All he could do was standing there like an idiot. 

Finally, Dick seemed to do a head count and find one person missing. He zeroed in on them pretty quickly after that.

His smile vanished.

“Dami…” he made to step forward, but Damian took another step back, forcing Jon to do the same. 

Dick flinched at that like he had been smacked.

“Damian, please. Let me explain”

Damian started to shake his head.

“I didn’t know what I was doing. I wasn’t myself! I didn’t…I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know… who you were…any of you”

_What the heck?_

“And that should make me feel better?” Damian interrupted him, his voice raw with something.

“NO! I don’t mean that! Oh, god, Damian, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, please-” he took another step forward towards them, they had run out of room to step back, Jon’s back pressed to the door.

“No. Stop. DON’T TOUCH ME” Damian half shouted when Dick’s hand was only inches from his head.

The man’s face crumpled. “Little D…please…” he could only say, tears back on his pretty face.

“No. No, you. No. You left us. You refused us. You… I’m out of here” Damian said, turning towards the door, pushing Jon aside. Dick grabbed him before he could open it. Jon felt Damian tense and acted before he could even think about it. He grabbed Dick’s arm back, with enough strength to make him let go of Damian. 

Grayson’s eyes widened and he seemed to register his presence for the first time.

“Who…who are you…?” He asked in a daze. 

Right. He probably was in no state to see the little ten years old he had once met in the teenager that was standing in front of him in that moment. 

“I’m sorry” Jon stammered “but please respect his request” Jon felt like a complete idiot and a fiend, seeing how heartbroken Dick was.

“Ehy, what the fuck are you doing, kid?” A voice, Jason’s, Jon realized with dread, raised against him, and the man himself stepped in face. Everyone else just stood there, frozen, watching the exchange. 

“Get your hands off Dick and stay out of this! Who even are you? This is a family matter!” 

He was standing right in front of him now, and no matter how much Jon had grown, the red hood could still loom over him in height and size.

Jon braced himself.

“I know, I’m sorry. But Damian said-”

“And who are you, his bodyguard? Since when can’t he take care of himself? Who even are you to him?”

Well, that was a nice question. 

“I…”

And now the time had finally come for Jon to make a fool of himself. In front of Damian’s whole family. 

_SUPER._

_“_ He is more to me than either of you are at the moment, Todd” Damian answered for him, his voice a shard of ice that seemed to shut everyone up.

“That’s it. I’m out of here. Have your tearful reunion, everyone. I want no part in it” he concluded, and turned again for the door. Dick seemed to shake himself up and lighting fast he posed himself between them and their escape route.. 

“No. Wait. Please. Don’t go. I’ll go. You don’t have to. Let’s just talk a bit, ok? And if you still don’t want to see me, I’ll go”

“No. Move, Grayson”

“No!” 

Damian turned to Jon then. Steel in his green eyes. 

“Jon”

He didn’t have to say more. Jon knew what he wanted, and he was ready for him. It would probably turn the whole batfamily against him and his mother wold wring his neck for it later, but right then it didn’t matter. Damian needed him, and Jon was there for him. 

He grabbed him with an arm around his waist and pulled him closer, turning toward the windows. One was opened. Good. Having to smash one would have just been the cherry on top. 

Mr Wayne seemed to catch up on what he was planning to do before anyone else, being the only one actually aware of who he really was “Jon, wait!” 

But it was too late. 

To everyone’s bewilderment his feet lifted up form the floor, he pulled Damian even closer to his chest and in a heartbeat they were out, free of the stifling air of grief and loss that seemed to seep out of every nook and cranny of the Wayne manor, and out into the blue sky. 

At the end they don’t really leave the Manor ground. No, they even got back in via a window for just a second, cause Damian wanted to getsomething from his room and then they sat on the manor’s highest balcony, and for some reason, no one looks for them.

Jon felt quite smug at the idea that the big bad bats where running all around like headless chickens looking for them while they were chilling right over their heads. 

Damian hadn’t really said anything, and while Jon had a thousand questions floating in his head, for now he was quite happy to sit there, lulled by the scratching sounds of Damian’s pencil on paper. At regular intervals Damian would look up at him and then look back down at his drawing. 

He was drawing him. 

That made Jon even more smug, and he did his best to fight the flush that threatened to rise to his face. 

He had never seen Damian draw, even though he knew that he was good at it, he had seen the sketches and paintings attached to the walls of his fancy room. 

There were many things Damian was good at that Jon knew nothing about, and suddenly he felt the strong urge to know about every single one of them, if only so he could go around and boast about it: _‘Look, look at how good he is! Look at how cool my…’_

Jon was done denying it. 

At least to himself. 

For quite sometimes now, even before he had come back from space, there had been this nameless emotion growing inside of him. At first, when he was still lost and scared and alone, it was strong enough, and intense enough, that he could barely tell it apart from the burning anger that had festered inside him. Anger at his grandfather, at his parents, at the world at large.

But then, after coming back, and after finding Damian sitting waiting for him under the rain…that emotion had grown softer. Still burning, still over compassing but…gentler. Fierce in his need to protect and support, but also sweet in his want to keep close and warm. And it revolved completely around Damian. 

He loved him. 

His ten years old self might have snorted at the idea, but he wasn’t ten anymore. 

He was seventeen, and he was in love with Damian Wayne. 

Where to go from there, Jon had no idea. 

“I’m sorry”

“What?” Jon had been so lost in his revelation that he hadn’t registered the fact that Damian’s pencil had fallen silent for some time. 

“I’m sorry about what happened back there. Todd had no right to speak to you like that. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this”

“You didn’t drag me anywhere. I wanted to be there”

“Why?”

Why indeed. 

Damian was looking straight at him, knees up to his chest, sketchbook resting on his tights. Jon wished he could see what he looked like seen from his eyes. 

What did Damian thought of him? At first he treated him like an idiot, “a good distraction” he used to define him as, but at some point he had started to call him a “partner” and then “a friend”. And now? Would he lose all of this if he were to tell his part of the story? 

“Weeeeell…” _No risk, no gain._

The pocket of his jeans started to vibrate.

Jon tried to ignore it at first, cursing the horrible timing, but Damian had already noticed.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?”  
_No. Not now. DAMMIT._

The caller ID said “Superman” with meant that he HAD to pick up. His dad was calling from the fortress. 

“Dad?”

_“Jon, I’m sorry, but you have to come here”_

“Now?? You know I can’t, I’m at the manor!” _You know, about to confess._

_“Saturn girl is here. And she refuses to leave without talking to you first”_

“What? I told you I don’t want to-”

_“You told me, son. But I’m not going to fight your fights for you. You come here and tell her yourself. You should at least hear what she has to say”_

Jon groaned. 

He turned to look at Damian, who was frowning at him “Problems?”

“No”

_“Jon”_

“No, I mean, I wasn’t talking to you. Fine, I’m coming. I’ll be there in a sec”

_“Alright. Don’t take too long”_

He hung up, with a sigh. 

“There’s no alien invasion coming, I hope?”

“No…but I have to go. I’m sorry. It’s… Legion business”

Something grew cold in Damian’s eyes, and he stood up, his sketchbook closed and forgotten by his feet.

“Are you leaving then?”

“What? No!” 

“Why not?”

“Cause I don’t want to!”

“Why?”

Jon groaned, messing up his hair. “Look, I have to go solve this. I really don’t want to go and I’ll be back as soon as I can, and then we’ll talk”

“You don’t need to hurry, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Kent”

Back to the last name. 

“I know that! But I WANT TO. And I want to… there’s something I want to talk to you about. Something important. I’ll be back. Please don’t disappear off somewhere improbable in the mean time and try not to…” _‘get yourself into trouble’_ would probably not be received well. Damian was, in fact, already raising an eyebrow.

“Try not to kill any relatives, in my absence. I really don’t have any money to bail you out”

Damian huffed. Better than a scoff. “I can’t guarantee that. Go. Try no to come back an old man this time”

_Ouch._

“Nah. You already did that, remember? My bathroom sure does!”

“Leave, Jon. NOW”

Jon lifted from the ground, smiling.

“Can I see that when I come back?” He asked, pointing to the sketchbook.

“No. It’s not finished”

“Then I’ll model for you again”

“I wasn’t drawing you! I was drawing that gargoyle, right there. It was a definitely more interesting subject”

Jon laughed this time, and he turned toward North.

“I’ll back before you can miss me, I promise”

As he was gathering speed and the world started to blur around him, Jon could swear he heard “You better” muttered in the distance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...dear Jon finally admitted it! And then his father came and blew it.  
> "I'll be back soon, I promise!" bwauahahahaha famous last words. And he's never to be seen again.  
> I'm a bit evil, I know. But you'll see.  
> Funny thing, I didn't really mean to have Damian come so strongly at Dick, when I first started to write this. But that scene kind of wrote itself. The saltiness about the Ric Grayson crap just poured out. Or maybe Damian just had a mind of his own. Dick will redeem himself. But just having him come back and be welcomed back by everyone like nothing happened just didn't feel right.  
> In next chapter "Foreboding" Jon will flip the bird to some people, Damian will have a few serious (and seriously awkward) talks and enemies will finally come to bother us all. Also, a couple of very dear girls will come back from war :)


	6. Foreboding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeell. Sorry for the longer wait T^T work had piled up, and I felt like crap for family business and this week went by without me realizing. It's already February, where has January gone???  
> Then Today, with my amazing luck, I almost got my right thumb cut off by getting it stuck between a very hard metal door and its very hard metal frame. OUCH. Thankfully I didn't break my finger but it was a near thing, and now I CAN'T WORK. BECAUSE I CAN'T HOLD A PEN AND I'M A COMIC COLORIST AND I WANT TO CRY. But I can still type! Yeeeeei (....?) so I finished the chapter :)  
> Enjoy! I really like this chapter too and we are finally getting at the good stuff. (cue demonic laugh in the background)

Damian breathed in the quiet of his room, with a small sigh of contentment. He knew that there was little chance his overbearing family would leave him alone for long but for now he wanted to enjoy his solitude. He had needed Jon’s company, afraid of what his thoughts would have whispered to him in his solitude, but he was still an introvert at heart. He needed to be alone to recharge and find his center again. 

He left his sketchbook on his mahogany desk peering down at the bettered cover of it, as if he could look trough paper at the unfinished sketch inside. 

His hands itched to get back at it and finish it, block in the scene when it was still fresh in his mind. Graphite wasn’t enough, he was dying to bust out his colors and paint every vibrant detail, that pleased smile, those unruly hair and those inhumanity bright eyes…

Lost in his musing he realized too late he wasn’t alone in the room. Soft fur brushed his calves, followed by an inquisitive chirpy call and two pin pricks of pain as sharp nails dig into the skin just behind his left knee. 

He looked down and found deep amber eyes looking back at him, fierce judgment clear in them. 

He knelt down to pick the black and white cat. 

The creature hissed only a little at the indignity of being unwillingly lifted from the ground, and begrudgingly curled in the crook of Damian’s arms. 

“Ehy, you” he called softly. 

He couldn’t bring himself to say the name, not yet. 

He walked to the window ledge, and sit down cradling the cat between his torso and lap, carefully stroking between his hears. After a few minutes he was rewarded by soft purrs. 

“I’m sorry” he said to the cat “for being absent for so long. I had to go. I couldn’t stay here a moment longer. You don’t have to forgive me though” 

The cat lifted its head at an improbable angle to stare at him talk. 

Damian had never felt silly talking to his pets. They made better listeners than humans, and didn’t judge. 

Well, not too much, anyway, if the disdainful looks his cat was throwing back at him were any indication. 

“I hope you were treated well in my absence. I’ll get you fresh salmon tonight as a token of apology”

The cat head butted his hand. Damian took it as the acceptance it was.

He stayed like that for a long time, and was wondering about where to start looking for Titus when a knock sounded at his door. 

Took them long enough. 

“Come on in” he called, resigned, his brown already furrowing against his will. He was going to get early wrinkles because of his family, that was for sure. 

To his surprise, it wasn’t bird not bat at his door. 

“I thought you might be angry, kitten” Selina said with a smile, carrying a tray. 

Damian wasn’t too sure if she was talking to him or the cat. He was never sure of anything when it came to her. 

As she laid a fuming pot of tea with two china cups and cucumber sandwiches in front of him he came to the conclusion it was meant for him. 

Tea was his favorite blend of earl grey.

Damian didn’t know what to say, and just sat there, alternating glaring between the display and Selina herself.

Still smiling, she set the two cups between them on the desk, pouring tea for the both of them.

“I don’t want them” he spit out towards the sandwiches. Cucumber sandwiches were…had been _his_ thing, he couldn’t, he wouldn’t-

“Your father made them. I tired to tell him to go with something a bit less queen Elizabeth, but he was quite adamant about it. And he made them with such enthusiasm that I couldn’t really stop him, now, could I”

Damian’s eyes went wide at that, and for a second he forgot about being angry.

“Father cooked?” He asked in total disbelief. In three years he had spent at the manor he could count on the fingers of one hand the time he had seem his father touch a kitchen utensil, and two of those were because of a case. 

“He’s quite good at it, surprisingly enough. Even though his tastes remain those of a rich boy, unfortunately” she declared with a sigh “I still have to work on that”

An image of the Batman wearing a “kiss the cook” apron on top of his kevlar popped into his head against his will. He could almost hear Richard’s laugh in the background. Almost. 

“He’s cowering in his study, you know. Fidgeting like a child, after being properly chastised by pretty much everyone for dropping that on you without a warning. Him and Dick both. They look like a couple of overgrown puppies with their tails between their legs. It’s quite funny actually”

Damian’s hand, that was quietly reaching for the cup against his better judgment, stopped dead in its track.

“What?”

“You heard me. Tim was furious. And Barbara too…I love her” Selina said smirking like Christmas had come early.

Damian wanted to stay silent. He really did. It was the most dignified thing to do but- “but why? Why would they be angry at them? They were all pretty happy to have Grayson back…” _way more happy they would be if I was in his place_ he wanted to add, but didn’t. 

“Well, yes, they were surprised. But that wore off pretty quickly, especially after your… rather theatrical exit. Kudos to you, by the way, kitten, that was brilliant”

Damian fought off a blush “they left me no choice”

“Ehy, don’t get me wrong I loved it. What’s the use of having a super boyfriend after all if you can’t use him to fly away from your crazy relatives?” She said, with a self satisfied grin.

Damian chocked on his tea “HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND” he shouted, raising to his feet, cup still in hand.

“Oh, really? Too bad. You should rectify that. I like him, I totally approve. You’ve got you father good taste in partners, kitten” she calmly answered -still with that damming smile- and sipping elegantly her tea, pinky out and all. 

_This woman. Of every criminal in Gotham, father had to choose this woman._

He sat back down, placing the now empty cup back on his plate, silently fuming from his hears while Selina refilled it.

“Do I have to remind you that my father’s “taste” gave us my mother?” He asked trough gritted teeth, in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

“I like your mother. She’s a badass. And talking of badass, that boyfriend of yours-”

“HE IS NOT MY BO-”

“That _super-_ friend of yours” she continued with the same quiet and casual tone and still succeeding into talking over his screams “where is he? I like him, you should introduce him to me. He’s Lois’ son right? Now that’s another badass I really like. If he’s worth half of what his mother is, he’s got to be pretty cool”

Damian resisted the childish urge to blow bubbles in his tea. “you do do realize he’s superman son, right? Kryptonian and all, invulnerable, laser eyes, he can FLY AND ALL?”

“And? Lots of superheroes these days. Easy to find them. But a woman who can actually _stand_ them, now that’s rare and something I can respect” 

“This conversation is hurting me”

“You’re a big boy Robin, I’m sure you can survive. Aww sweetie, there you are! I brought something for you too, come here, kitty”

Again Damian had the dreadful sensation she was talking to him, only to then realize she was leaning down to pick up the cat from under the table.

The little furry opportunist head-butted her and sprawled all over her lap, purring like crazy. 

_Traitor. I’ll remember this, cat._

He buried his face in his hands blowing out a long breath. Maybe he could escape form his window? How many chances did he have to successfully escape her? 

“Well. Would you look at that! Do your platonic-super-friends model for you often?” Selina asked in mocked disinterest.

Damian realized his mistake too late. He had allowed her to sit right by his forgotten sketchbook.

“Give it back! That’s personal!” He launched himself on the table to grab his sketchbook, but the woman leaned back on the back legs of her chair, away from his reach. 

“My, you’re good. And he’s pretty. As I said, good taste, have fun with him. Use protection”

Damian’s face blazed with heat at that.“I…YOU…WE ARE JUsT FRIENDS AND I’M 14! YOU ARE SO INAPPROPRIATE, WOMAN” He screamed, feeling his skin turn the color fo Goliath. 

Selina wasn’t even trying to stay serious of this point. 

“Omg, look at you. You Waynes blush the same, look at your ears!” She teased him relentlessly between laughs.

“My father doesn’t blush!” He didn’t. Batman did NOT blush. And neither would he. He was done with this. He was done with this conversation, he was done with this situation, he was done with this FAMILY. 

“Oh, yes, he does. In…particular situations, he does” she retorted, her grin wicked.

“AAARGH!” Damian exploded, his hands of his ears. “I don’t want to know!” He banged his head on the table, feeling the cups rattle in their plates. This had to be a nightmare. Some toxin induced hallucination. Maybe Jon had actually dropped him in their way out and he had been dreaming this whole mess. He was not having this conversation. 

Selina’s laughs subsided a little.

“Ok, ok, fine, lower your hackles, little bird. I’m done teasing you. You just make it so much fun, though”

He glared at her. 

“But seriously, I’m glad to see you got you spirit back” she continued, her face turning serious and…soft “we were worried for you”

Damian looked away, bristling “I can take care of myself”

“Yes, you can. But you shouldn’t have too. Plus, you’re his darling son, he will forever worry about you. No matter how old or capable you are, he will worry. He loves you.You know that”

Damian did know that.

“And so does Dick”

Damian huffed. “I knew that’s why you came here”

Selina shrugged, all air of playfulness gone.

“Look. If Bruce had pulled something like that on me…well, who am I kidding, he did pull something like that on me in the past and I’ve hated it. You don’t have to forgive him if you don’t want to. But please, for the love of god, go talk to him. A sad Bruce is one thing, but a moping Nightwing with his big sparkling eyes full of tears and down turned ears is more than everyone can handle. He’s like a big wet slobbering dog parading around his hurt puppy eyes, so either you end it by giving him a chance to roll over for you and play fetch, or I will. I hate dogs, for this very reason. They are so undignified” she concluded with a huff of her own. 

For the perch of her arms Alfred the cat looked at him with an air of complete agreement and superiority. 

Damian had to bit his lip at the picture she had painted.

“I’m still angry with him. And if I meet Todd, I might end him”

“Be my guest. Only, try not to kill him too much, cause then I would have to deal with an even sadder Bruce and also he has the tendency to not stay dead for long. One of these days we will finally find ourself with a zombie Jason on our hands and than things would turn ugly”

Damian did smirk at that. 

“Fine” he conceded, finishing up the last of his tea and munching on a sandwich. They were actually good. So his father was good at something other than punch bad guys and working cases, after all “but I’m not promising anything”

“It’s all I ask, kitten. Go beat them up for all I care. It’s what they deserve. And you might even find allies waiting for you. Tim is probably ready to hold them while you beat’em. Though in case you do end up doing that, please call me cause I want to watch”

He felt a laugh bubbling out of him before he could keep it down.

“Will do” 

He opened the door and was about to exit it when he turned back. 

Selina was sitting at the desk, chair still tilted back and was unrepentantly flipping trough his sketchbook, cat still on her lap.

“You’re right, by the way” he said, smiling.

“I usually am. About what in particular?”

“My father actually has very good taste”.

The closer he got to the frozen peaks of the fortress, the hotter Jon’s anger brew under his skin. That burning ugly thing that had grown in him during his imprisonment in space was now rearing its ugly head, turning his vision red.

If he had had a shard of a doubt before, when he first met Saturn girl and heard her proposition…he had no hesitation left now. He couldn’t leave his present. He WOULDN’T leave his present, his life, his family. He had already lost so much. The people that loved him needed him. 

Damian needed him. 

And he needed Damian. 

He flew straight trough the entrance, and landed a few feet from where he could see his father standing close to a red and white clad figure. 

She beamed at him, a big welcoming smile stretching across her face. “Finally! Are you ready to go, then?” She asked, a portal already opening behind her “wait until you meet everyone, they are dying to finally get to know you!” She was babbling on. Jon frowned, turning towards his father.

Superman looked…sheepish. 

Jon sighed.

“I’m sorry, Saturn girl, I had hoped my father had told you at least that, but apparently he didn’t” he threw another glare at Superman at that, for good measure.

“Told me what?”

“I’m not coming with you. Ever”

“But….what?”

Jon braced himself, standing up to his full height.

“I’m needed here. I’m sorry that you had to come back here again only to come back without me, and I know how important you think it is for me to come with you-”

“I KNOW IT IS! Superboy, listen to me, this is necessary! If you’d only come for a moment, and watch our presentation you’d understand!” 

“No. I’m not leaving. I just got back. I have people that need me here. People I need to have close… I can’t leave to go to the future” he tried to explain, making a face at the idea.

She smiled indulgently at that “That’s fine. I can bring you back to any moment you want me to. You can come with me, help us and be back ten minutes from now! Come on!” She extended her hand at him again. 

He was getting furious now. But his father’s presence anchored him enough to answer in a mild manner.

“No. I can’t risk it. I’m sorry, but my decision is final”

“You don’t understand! We need you! You have to come!!” 

“Need? Now is need. Well, I’m sorry, but no. I was not born in the year 3000. I was born now. And my place is here”

“If we don’t change the past, well, our past, your future, horrible things will happen. Don’t you want to help people? I thought you were supposed to be a superhero”

“Now, here, young lady” his father started, his own temper flaring out a little at hearing his son talked at like that.

“No! I don’t understand, what’s so important that you need to be here for that you can’t even spare ten minute of this time line for? I told you, I’ll bring you back to this.very.moment!”

“NO! You might bring me back to this moment, but it wouldn’t be the same me, would it? Been there, done that, I’M NOT DOING IT AGAIN!”

Her big smile was all but gone now. 

“It’s very selfish of you. We are trying to do good. I thought you wanted to do the same”

“I do. And I will. But I’m gonna start from the people closer to me first”

“Oh, really. Like who? What we want to change will affect them too, you know? Your family, your friends? They will suffer for it as well, and you will have done nothing to prevent it”

“Tell me then! If it’s that important, tell me and I will make sure it doesn’t happen! But I’m not going to the future to change the past, if my family will suffer, I wanna be there with them when it happens. We will fight together, like we always do!” 

Saturn girl’s eyes turned cold at that. “Fight together? This is about him, isn’t it? It won’t work, Jon. I can’t tell you what happens in the future, not unless you come with me and join us in trying to fix it from the future, but I can tell you this. You should stay well away from Damian Wayne” 

Jon froze. He felt his father hover closer, silently.

“Leave” Jon said, in a quiet, almost whispered tone.

“What?”  
“Leave”

Saturn girl looked to the side, with a sigh “look, I know he’s your best friend. Everyone in the future knows about the legendary Superson friendship, but…trust me, he’s… he might be good now but-”

“Are you hard of hearing, I told you to _LEAVE_ ”

“Jon!” His father chastised him, Jon didn’t care. 

“I’m only saying-”

“GET-OUT”

“Superb-”

Jon basted lasers at her feet.

“JON!” His father called from behind him. Jon didn’t even turn to acknowledge him.

His anger was eating him up from the inside now, growing like a living thing. How dare she. Whatever they might have “heard” about Damian wasn’t true. Damian was so much more that anything she might think she knows. He was… “I won’t repeat myself, Saturn girl. Go back to your time, and do not come back, not for me. I’m good here. We have already been warned about a “disastrous future” cause by our friendship by future Batman Tim Drake, and I’m giving you the same answer I gave him: I won’t push him away. I’m gonna stand by his side. I won’t give up on my family. And he… _is_ my family” 

He flew away then. If she wasn’t leaving he would. He also wasn’t ready to face his father’s anger. Cause if he were to do that now… he wan’t sure he would not lash out at him as well. He couldn’t even go back to Damian feeling so much…. _blinding_ anger. The world looked red. He needed to calm down. He need someone ready to listen to him, to be there for him. 

A face came to mind, followed by a stab of guilt. It had been too long. He should have gone to see her sooner. She was going to punch him in the face. And he’d take it.

He sped back towards the USA, his destination a small, quiet farm in Hamilton county.

He wanted to see Kathy. 

Damian didn’t want to do this. He really didn’t want to. He had had enough heart to heart to last him for a life time. 

He kept pacing, up and down the empty wing leading to his father study, his feet drawing lines in the elaborate carpet. He really wanted to go find Titus, run his finger trough his short silky fur, maybe go running with him somewhere, blow up some steam. 

But the dog was still no where to be found.

The poor picture Selina had painted of his father and brother kept stabbing at his heart. Gods, he wished he could take a page out of his mother’s side of the family book and profess he didn’t actually had a heart, but a voice, that sounded suspiciously like that of a certain blue eyes ex-batman kept telling him it wasn’t true. 

He hated Richard. 

He hated him. He had left them, and forgotten them, and in the time of major need he had said “that’s just not who I am” and turned his back on them. On Alfred. It was such a stupid thing to say and Damian had wanted to _strangle him!_ He hated Richard and wasn’t going to forgive him, and that was just something the others had to accept. 

“Who are you kidding, Damian Wayne…” he whispered to himself. 

He could feel his heart battling with his head, a magnetic force calling him forward, telling him to run, open the damn door, and throw himself in the warm, perfect embrace that was waiting for him there. He was right there. In the flesh. He was alive, and well, and whole, and he was waiting for him. 

He was thinking of him, and was ready to smile at him again, and to tell him how proud of him he was and how much he loved him, he was RIGHT THERE. 

Richard Grayson. His Richard Grayson. _His._

Damian had missed him. Oh, how much he had missed him. 

And yet.

_“what do you know, brat? What do you care? Mind your own fucking business”_

_“oh, come on, Cabbie, it’s just a kid! He looks like he’s about to cry”_

“TT” Damian clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Yeah. His heart could shut up for a little bit longer as far as he was concerned. 

Titus was clearly restless, his long tail heavily tamping on the carpet. His head snapped up every minute or so to turn at the door, and then he would huff and put his snout back on Dick’d knee. 

Dick patted him behind the ears with a rueful smile.

“You miss him, big guy? You don’t have to be here, you know? You should go find him, at least you can do that…”

“He’ll come around” came a gruff voice from behind him “you have to give him time”

His father appeared from behind the couch he was sitting on with a plate of cucumber sandwiches and tea.

“You made these?” Dick asked in surprise.

“Yes. But Selina made the tea” 

Dick couldn’t help but smile at that “Divide and conquer? I’m really glad you two are back together, B. She’s good for you”

“That she is” Bruce answered with a fond smile. 

Dick sighed.

“I missed a lot, didn’t I”

“You _were_ missed a lot. But we have all the time to make up for it. You’re here now, and that’s what counts”

“Yeah, well… I can’t forgive myself that easily, B… and why should I? I fucked up, big time. I turned my back on everyone that loves me and Damian…he’s my baby brother, he needed me, B, and I…” he covered his face with his hands, shaking his head. He felt so tired. Ever since coming back to the manor, facing Bruce, learning of what had happened, of who they had lost… he felt drained. Empty. Guilty. So guilty “I betrayed him. For someone like Damian being brushed off and left behind is the worse punishment… he can take pain, or anger or craziness. But he can’t deal with …” his voice trailed off. It’s not like he needed to finish that sentence. Bruce knew what he had wanted to say.

_‘Abandonment’_ his mind supply usefully. Damian could deal with a lot of things, but being left behind by those he loved? It was probably his worse nightmare, even though he would never admit it. Dick had known that. He had known, and he had sworn to himself to always be there for him.

What a big fucking lie.

_It’s not your fault_ his mind kept telling him _you didn’t know. You didn’t ask to be shot in the head.You didn’t want to forget._

Except he had. God, he HAD. 

He had felt free. Free from a huge burden that had been suffocating him. He felt like a monster, to have thought of his previous life, and his family like that. But he had. 

He had been wanting to leave it all behind, no matter how many times Babs or Alfred, ALFRED, had come to talk to him. He had laughed in their faces. Stupid Ric Grayson had just brushed them off. 

And not just them. 

He hadn’t realized it at first. Back when it had happened, after a few weeks since the start of his ‘new life’ as Ric Grayson, he hadn’t even know that the weird kid he had found staring at him in such a creepy way was someone he should have known. 

He hadn’t recognized him,and up until he had got his memories back, he hadn’t connected the dots. 

He had thought that the only people that had come looking for him had been Babs and Alfred. 

But that was not true. 

Cause of course Damian came for him He always did. When he needed him, or missed him, or simply wanted someone to talk. Damian had always come to HIM. 

And damned Ric Grayson…had laughed in his face…

_It had been one afternoon like any others of his new life. He had slept ins dirty cab and then he had wondered aimlessly around the filthy streets of Bludhaven to finally end up in what had become his favorite pub._

_He had been already half-drunk when it happened._

_“Ehy, brat! Here’s no kindergarten! Get the fuck’outta here!” Someone had yelled, near the pool table._

_“I’m here to see someone. Not that it is any of your business” a young, arrogant voice had answered._

_Ric had turned his head curiously, with a lazy smile in place after asking for a refill, ready for a show._

_“What the fuck? Are they giving out candies here now? Why didn’t anyone told me? I could have brought my niece along too!” Someone laughed. It was a poor joke, the guy was already mor edrunk than Ric himself. He knew him. Idiotic fella, really bad at handling his drinks._

_He craned his necka bit more to see the boy that had the gall to come alone inside a place like this. Was he trying to win a dare or something?_

_He heard the boy click his tongue “Move. Or I’ll move you”_

_The whole group laughed and giggled at that, and Ric joined them this time. The kid was either crazy, or had a death wish. Ric dismounted his stool to get closer. His afternoon had been pretty bleak. This was shaping up to be quite fun._

_“Oh, really? Would like to see you try!”_

_Seconds after that Ric heard a grunt. Then another. Something heavy dropped on the wooden floor. Upon closer inspection he found that it was the drunken idiot that had been shouting just seconds before. In front of him stood a child. Small, skinny, with mussed black hair and dark olive skin._

_“What the fuck…?” He wondered aloud at the strange display. Most of the people gathered were murmuring or complaining, some companions of the fallen idiot were already throwing dirty looks at the kid, gearing up to retaliate, but the kid’s whole attention had shifted, and Ric had found piercing green eyes staring right at him._

_The kid’s mouth opened and his eyes widened. He stepped closer, his forehead crumpled in an unforgiving frown, and he looked at Ric from head to feet, with the air of someone finding something unpleasant stuck at the bottom of their shoes._

_Ric felt weighed, measured and found wanting. It irked him to no end._

_“The fuck do you want, kid?” He had asked scathingly._

_“You…are you drunk?”_

_Ric scoffed. “What do you care? Get the fuck out, kid, before someone gets hurt” he said in warning. The kid could try to plow_ **_him_ ** _to the ground. Ric would really like to see him try._

_It was a kid. He would not be riled up by a stupid kid. He had better things to do. Like getting another refill. He turned to leave._

_“Wait!” The kid called. He looked a bit scared now. Lost. His anger had turned into a look of slight panic that made him look a lot younger. Ric noticed a faint yellow tint under the kid’s right eye. Like a healing bruise covered by make up._

_Not that he cared. None of his business. His brain just seemed to be unable to stop picking up on every single little detail._

_“What are you even doing here? Your place isn’t here, with this filth, you should come back home!” The kid said at him._

_What the fuck._

_“what do you know, brat? What do you care? Mind your own fucking business. You go home. This is no place for a kid like you”_

_“But…you..wait” the kid grabbed him, then, pulling at his elbow._

_Ric hadn’t meant to._

_Not really._

_His strange instincts had reacted on their own to begin grabbed against his will, his strength out of control and made sloppy by the alcohol in his system._

_“Get off me!” He had barked, flinging the kid against a pool table._

_The little body colliding with the hard wood made a sick tump noise that made the taste of cheap beer go sour in Ric’s mouth._

_“Oh, come on, Cabbie, it’s just a kid! He looks like he’s about to cry”_

_Someone called from behind, someone else was laughing._

_The kid picked himself from the ground without even a flinch. He didn’t look hurt…not physically, but when he raised his head his eyes looked…like broken glass._

_Ric had felt paralyzed by that hard stare, uneasy. Judged. He did the only thing he could think of. He laughed. Many more joined him._

_It didn’t feel funny, or even remotely humorous to him. But that was what Ric Grayson did when confronted by his problems. He laughed. He was free and unattached to anything._

_He just laughed._

_“This was a mistake” the kid had muttered, looking down, defeated. Without saying anything else he had left._

_That had been it._

_Ric had gone back to his drink, and by the time he had stumbled shakily out of the pub at about 3 a.m., he had forgotten all about it. Just another empty day, as usual._

“You didn’t know him. I’ve been there, I know what it means. He forgave me at the end, didn’t he? He’ll come around. Selina has gone looking for him” Bruce said placatingly, interrupting the painful flow of memories.

Dick’s head snapped up.

“And you think that’s a good idea why, exactly?”

Bruce smirked.

“She has her ways to get trough a hard Wayne’s head. And they had kind of bonded before…well, before Selina left. IF there is someone who can get him to come down, it’s her” he said, and then seemed to think better of it “And Jonathan, of course. But according to the manor security reports he has flown off a while ago, and he didn’t seem too inclined to be on our side either way”

“…Jonathan? Wait, you mean Jonathan Kent?”

“Well, of course. How many flying Jonathans do you know?”

“…”

“THAT WAS JONATHAN KENT?”

“…yes…?”

“…”

“…is it some kind of Kryptonian weird puberty thing or…..?” Dick finally asked with a thin, horrified voice.

“Right. You missed that. No, of course not. He…well stuff happened. But no. He didn’t magically aged seven years. He lived trough all of them and then came back in time…more or less. You should probably ask Clark for the details, if you want to know more”

“Well, not really. We have enough problems with our own family. But…Damian… how did he took it? He cares a lot for Jon, doesn’t he?”  
Bruce sighed. 

“I wonder. I don’t know. I haven’t…we haven’t really talked about that, yet. And a lot of other things. We haven’t really talked at all for…some time”

And old annoyance that Dick hadn’t felt for a long time resurfaced “Bruce…”

“I know. I plan to rectify that. But that’s not what we should talk about now. One problem at a time. Focus on restoring your relationship with him, and let me worry about mine”

“Yeah, cause that usually works so well….”

Titus suddenly jumped up, his tail wagging, and he run towards the door. 

The door handle turnedand then stopped. It stayed downturned for a few seconds, and then the door was pushed opened, Damian appearing with a frown on his face and his phone held to his ear.

Dick stood up soon followed by Bruce as well, an hopeful smile stretching on his face despite himself. Damian had come down. That was something. 

In a second however, his smile disappeared. 

Damian’s face was going paler by the second. 

“Wait, Maya, calm down. Where are you? What-”

A look of horror crossed his little brother’s face, and a sinking feeling of dread clutched at Dick’s stomach.

“That’s… that’s impossible…” Damian half whispered, his knuckles white around the phone, hiswide eyes staring unseeingly at them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tan-tan-taaaaaaan!!!! A cliffhanger and a half. Sorry not so sorry.  
> Also yes, i had to add that flashback. It just didn't make sense to me that Damian hadn't even tried to go look for Dick. Poor Dami T^T  
> Also I love Selina, can you tell? And my girls are coming up!!! I love both Maya and Kathy loads and I can't wait to write them!!!  
> And I added a few tags... a bit of a spoiler, but well. Timkon is what got me into Dc to begin with and now we have Kon back in canon, I HAVE to write him meeting Jon. I HAVE TO. So...yeah. Please look forward to next chapter. It might be coming in a week, though I'll try to make it in less time, but I can't promise that. I have to finish work first, or my cats will starve.  
> :(


	7. RED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I.AM. SO .SOOOORRYYYYYYY!!!!!!  
> How did a month went by?? I had an emergency dead line at work until the tenth of February where they basically told me "yeah, you have little more than a week to color 15 PAGES AND A COVER and then psychosis hit my country and I'm so tired and sad T^T  
> This chapter was also really hard to write, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Gotta channel some of that bad real life vibe into writing!  
> That said..things are about to go down...FAST.  
> (also there's a little gift at the end, to apologize for being so freaking damn LATE)

The world was red.

The earth was incandescent lava and the air was scorching and poisonous. He was back in his prison, where everything hurt and no one was there to save him. 

The sky was fire and his lungs burned. He wanted to scream and scream and kill. 

Kill the pain, kill the noise, kill the hurt. Where was he? Had he never escaped his hell? Was coming back to Earth, to family, to love, only a cruel dream? Was he still lost and alone after all? 

The world was red, and his heart was shrinking on itself. The words joy and warmth were losing their meaning. 

Nothing was warm or soft, the hotness was painful, the space around him jagged and rough, cutting trough his skin made of steel. 

_NO. This wasn’t right. There was someone, someone waiting for him._

_“I’ll back before you can miss me, I promise”_

_“You better”_

_He had to go back. He was free, he had escaped, this couldn’t be real!_

For a split second the inescapable fire surrounding him seemed to let go, a noise came louder than the crackling on the flames and the bubbling of the lava, a welcome sweet voice he knew, he knew who that voice belong to he KNEW-

“JON! YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IT! You are stronger than this, I KNOW YOU!” 

Cool hands were cradling his face, and slowly between the red clouding his vision a face emerged, freckles upon a scrunched up nose, worried blue eyes half covered by blonde bangs. “There you are!” The girl said with a tremulous smile “don’t let go of me now, Jon, follow my voice! You can defeat it!” 

The voice was wrapping around him like a cool blue wave, soothing, fresh and welcoming, HOME. Hamilton, laughter, friendship, fun, carefree days under the sun. 

He was free, he was Jonathan Kent, a boy running trough corn fields in a summer afternoon.

“…K-Kathy…” he heard his voice whispering, he felt his hand reaching out, holding onto her neck, his hand caressing a braid “yes, you idiot” she said with a relieved sigh “I thought we’d lost you…” 

“I loath breaking the moment, Beacon, but the red angry stuff is still floating all around you, this would be a really good moment to finish it!” Another voice said from behind him, another voice he used to know but couldn’t place. He tried to turn but Kathy stopped him, turning his face back to her “Focus, Jon. Focus on my voice! You have to free your mind. You’re under attack! You already defeated something like this, you can do it again! Think of happy things. Think of flying. Of your family of…”

She kept chanting about happy things, her words jumbling together in a language he couldn’t understand, her eyes glowing blue, her hands like welcome ice on his cheeks. Jon was confused but tried to do what she asked, closed his eyes, and let images flood his mind.Memories of fun, of family and love and safety and among it all green eyes, black hair, a smirk and taunting voice spurring him on, a sweet hug under the blankets… the fire was slowly leaving his body,escaping from his head down and down until only his feet were still drowning in scorching lava, until-

Suddenly a noise broke the peaceful bubble around them, a boom, a crash, an onslaught of voices and caos, helicopters and feet running. To Jon’s straining senses it felt like a bomb going off inside his brain and it hurt so bad that he snapped away from Kathy’s hands, like an elastic pulled too tight.

“NO! JON, COME BACK!!” 

But it was too late, Jon was back on his feet, up in the air, turning to look at the source of the noise only to find…

The world bleeding red. 

Fire was all around them, Hamilton in ruins, Kathy’s farm destroyed, people and animals alike on the ground, lifeless. 

The world was red. 

Without breathing Jon looked down at his trembling hands, they were red. He turned, slowly, to look at his friend, her arms outstretched towards him, terror on her face “Come back down, Jon! We can fight it together! Come back here!!!” But a white figure was already holding…K…Kathy back, screaming “You can’t get close again, LOOK AT HIM! IT’S TOO DANGEROUS” 

The girl…Kathy, was struggling, calling his name, destruction and soldiers all around her, everyone disappearing in red, red, RED. 

“What have I done…?”

The earth was incandescent lava and the air was scorching and poisonous. He was back in his prison, where everything hurt and no one was there to save him. 

The sky was fire and his lungs burned. He wanted to scream and scream and kill. 

Kill the pain, kill the noise, kill the hurt. 

Kill the nameless girl that kept screaming and screaming…

Damian was furious. 

He wanted to punch someone, possibly his father. 

He wanted to break every screen in the batcave. 

He wanted to pick a page out of Jason’s book and grab a crowbar to destroy the damn bat mobile. 

“I can’t believe the nerve of him!” He screamed for what felt like the hundredth time. It probably was, too.

“Dami…”

“Don’t you DARE, Grayson. You get no say in this!” 

The former Robin sighed. 

“I’m with him on that one” the other former Robin in the room pitched in. 

Richard Grayson threw Jason a look. 

“You’re saying that only cause you want to get back in his good graces!” He accused, annoyed. 

“Why would I want that? I don’t give a shit about the demonic brat’s opinion of me!” 

“Yeah sure, than what’s keeping you here?”

Ok, forget the batmobile. Damian might just start by knocking the two idiots out. 

“How, Grayson, if you’d be so kind, is you keeping me prisoner here supposed to get you back into my good graces, exactly? Because so far all it did was making me want to punch the day lights out of you”

Grayson winced again. He did that every time Damian called him “Grayson” and the current Robin took a perverse pleasure in doing just that. 

“Dami, pl-”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT, GRAYSON”

“DAMIAN, please. It’s for your safety. You can’t just go rushing in on your own without knowing what to expect first! B went to join Clark there and together with Tim, Duke and Cass they will-”

“I should have gone with him! Not Drake! ME! I’m Robin! And he’s MY best friend! If he’s in danger I should be there with him! It’s already been a day. If I have to wait a moment longer I might go insane!”

“I know. I understand but Jon wouldn’t want you to get hurt either!”

“He wouldn’t hurt me!” 

“He’s out of control, you don’t know that!” Jason intervened, getting two glares instead of one.

“Jon would never hurt me”

“Not intentionally, but he’s not-”

Damian grabbed the first thing he could from the tools table and flung it at Richard. 

“What the fuck, brat!” Jason screamed, grabbing Damian by the collar. 

“Guys, please! Stop! Put him down, Jay!”

The two of them didn’t even acknowledged him, obviously itching to come to blows and let some steam out. But Dick couldn’t have that. Not now. 

“Look, why…” he looked behind himself, where Lucius was sitting before the main computer screen, talking to someone. Probably Bruce. “Why don’t we go get some air? OUT of the cave…?” He added, in a lower voice. 

“I don’t need air, GRAYSON. I need the two of you to leave me alone!” 

“I’m with the kid on this one, I’m not about to go strolling the gardens with you dickface”

“DON’T CALL ME KID, I’M FOURTEEN!” 

“YEAH SURE, YOU’RE SOOOO MATURE!” 

Dick sighed. He was going to need to be more obvious than that.

“GUYS. Listen to me!” He tried again, stressing his words in a way that Bruce would have found instantly suspicious, but that Lucius Fox seemed to be too occupied to notice. 

The two Robins stopped at once and turned to look at him. 

“ _Listen_ to me” He repeated “Let’s get out and get some air. Some nice, fresh air might just be what we need to clear our heads, plus, who knows what the wind might bring…” he concluded, actually wiggling his eyebrows.

Jason narrowed his eyes, fist still cocked ready to smash in Damian’s nose. 

Damian, for his part, was looking at Dick intently, brows knit together. 

They let go of each others, and Dick smiled.

“Right” he said, clapping his hands. 

“Lucius! We are going up to the kitchen for a sec! I’m starving!” 

Lucius stopped what he was doing and turned to look at them, a troubled expression on his face “Bruce said not to let Damian out of the cave…”

“No, he said to not let him out of our sight! And we’re going with him! He won’t sneak out, boyscout honor!” Dick assured him, elbowing Jason in the gut.

Jason spluttered “right…”

“Richard…”

“Oh, come on, Lucius! All of our vehicles are here, what can he do, fly there? Plus I gave my word to Bruce, and I’m going to respect that!” 

“…Fine. But I’m giving you ten minutes, no longer than that. And I’m keeping an eye on the exits security cameras”

“You got it, man!” Dick answered in an overly cheerful voice, dragging his two brothers out of the gloomy cave.

“Ok, we don’t have much time. And they should be here any minute. Let’s go to the roof!”

“Wooo, slow down Dickiebird, what are you talking about?” Jason protested, trying to halfheartedly stop Dick from dragging him around.

Dick huffed “I’m talking about our ride out of here, of course! What else?”

Jason did stop at that “WHAT? Are you joking?” 

Dick turned to face him with an hard expression on his face “I’ve never been more serious”

Jason started to shake his head. “No. Dick, I know that face, NO! We promised B we’d keep him safe!”

“Yeah and since when you do what he tells you to do?”

“I GAVE HIM MY WORD!”

“Jay…we have no right to keep him here! Jon is his best friend! I know that Bruce wants him safe, but he has no right to-”

“YOU gave him your word!” 

“JASON! I gave him my word I’ll keep him safe, not locked up! There’s a difference!” 

Someone cleared their throat, effectively stopping their bickering.

They both turned at the same time to look at Damian, standing in front of them with his hands on his hips.

“If you two could refrain from bickering like an old married couple for just a nanosecond, I’d like to remind you that this is in fact, about me, and than no one of you, let alone my father, has any right to take the decision to get involved away from me” Jason tried to open his mouth but Damian intercepted him before he could “THAT SAID, I’d like to hear what…Richard here has to say. So shut up, Todd”

He turned to look at ‘Richard’, only to find the older man practically beaming at him. He winced, realizing his mistake too late. “Well, then. Just speak, GRAYSON” 

Richard’s smile didn’t falter however, and the man finished leading them to the roof.

“It’s safer here” he explainedonce they got there.

“Why?”

“Well, there wasn’t much time, so all Tim could do was looping the outside security cameras” 

“He’s in on this too??” Jason asked, exasperated. 

“Off course he is, we’d never pull it off otherwise!” 

Jason sighed, covering his eyes with his hand and turning away from them. 

“Dick, this is crazy! We have a kryptonian turned rouge and we’re working against B and the league? B is going to kill us when he finds out. And he WILL find out. And leaving all that alone, this is too crazy, even for me. This is big. Justice league big. And I promised, I PROMISED B I’d keep his son safe. Leading him to the thick of this madness isn’t going to help with that! Betraying him is the last thing I want to be doing right now, Dick! Especially after…” 

Dick gave him a sad smile “I know. I understand, Jay, I do. But put yourself in Damian’s shoes… what if it was Roy instead? Or Artemis, or Bizarro…? Wouldn’t you want to be there for them?”

Jason winced, and Dick felt like he wanted to wince along with him. He knew that bringing in all the friends Jason had lost was a low blow. But he had no choice. He needed to to do this for Damian. It wasn’t even a fraction of what he owed his baby bother, but it was a start.

He watched as Jason turned to look at Damian, and he could see the resolve crumble in the other man’s eyes. It was so strange to be able to read someone so well, especially since just a few weeks prior he didn’t even remember the other man existed. 

Jason turned his face heavenwards and let out a soul shattering sigh.

“Fine. I hate you. Fine. I hate you all. That better be a great plan you have there, Dick. A Tim made plan. Not a Dick-last-minute-ditch-attempt kind of plan”

“Weeeeell…”

“Dick!” 

“We do have a plan! I swear! And Tim’s a part of it too! It’s just… well” he turned to look at Damian, who looked more and more inpatient by the minute “we hoped Damian himself had some ideas. He’s the one that knows Jon best. Plus! We’re waiting for the chivalry!”

Dick added with an hopeful smile.

“The chivalry” Jason repeated unimpressed. 

For the first time Damian found himself in complete agreement with Jason’s unhopeful tone, and he found the fact disturbing.

“YUP!” A voice called form above “And we’re all kinds of awesome!” 

All three robins turned to look up, their eyes widened.

Overing above them, looking cool and unbothered, stood a teenaged boy with bright red pants an undercut and a patch up leather jacket that has surely seen better days. But the thing that made Damian’s breath itch in his throat wasn’t the guy’s horrible fashion sense, or the fact that he was, well, flying, but the bright red and yellow ’S’ symbol on the boy’s chest. 

“Who on earth…?” He started to ask, when another figure appeared on the horizon, and one that brought an unwilling smile to Damian’s face. 

He started to run at full speed towards the edge of the balcony and, without a grappling gun, he threw himself at the big red monster coming at full force toward him. 

The big furry bat-dragon easily caught him and proceeded to squeeze the life out of him and lick all over his face in big, wet enthusiastic tongue swoops. Damian didn’t care. He had missed him. So much. As soon as Bane’s treats had started Damian had decided to send him away. It had been an hard decision but one he made without remorse. He knew Goliath would have been safe, he had sent him to… he was supposed to be with…

“Awwww look at the two of you. So cute, I should take a picture!” A voice called from behind Goliath’s head.

“Don’t you dare” Damian answered, still smiling and accepting the hand that had appeared from behind the bat-dragon’s ear.

In a second he found himself completely enveloped in a familiar sweet and spicy scent, two warm arms holding him in a firm and energetic embrace. Safe, home, family. His family. 

Maya. 

Maya Ducard pulled him back, and with just a look she managed to convey all the love and support he would never admit he needed. 

“later” her eyes were saying “later we’ll talk about everything”.

He just nodded. 

“Well, how sweet. Can we get back on business now, guys? Cause I’m happy you’re happy to have your crazy psychotic little brother back, Nobody dearest, but we kind of have a situation here” 

Damian turned toward the voice to their left to find Beacon, aka Kathy Branden the no so happy farm girl staring at them with an impatient angry expression. 

“Why is she here?” He asked Maya, trying to put space between himself and the blonde girl. “Oh, stop it you” Maya chastised him “we are all here for the same reason. She wants to help us help Jon, of course. Now, if we can get away from here before your father finds out and hungs us all from the cave ceiling to keep company to the bats…?”

Damian turned back to the boy overing a few feet from them “And who’s the Superman knockoff?” He asked not too kindly. 

“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m the original Superboy here! You all might not remember me, but I’m definitely NOTa knockoff. More like an older, more reliable model. A classic! A nice vintage leather jacket to Jon’s cheap Walmart zippy sweater”

“So basically you’re an old…super-BOY?” Damian interrupted him “how does that work?” 

‘Old Superboy’ looked at him with a frown so deep Damian was afraid he might be one step from being laser fried (did the knockoff have laser eyes?) but then, thankfully, the kryptonian sighed, his shoulder slumped in defeat “Yeah, I might have to start looking for a new name. But later. First, we have to go stop small Superboy from causing an apocalypse. Jeez, I haven’t even met my baby brother yet and I already have to go save his ass!” 

Damian decided to save a further investigation about the whole mess fir later. For now, they seemed to have a kryptonian on their side, and that was always useful when facing possibly the end of the world. 

Dick and Jason didn’t seem to be of the same advice. Dick in particular kept staring at the kryptonian, Kon-el, the other usefully provided, with a look of confusion and deep concentration. 

“You… you… I know you. I mean. I don’t remember you -and that might mean nothing since I just got the last 20 years of my life back a few days ago- but… you …are familiar. Why?” Dick said, looking at Kon-el like he was an incredibly interesting trapeze routine. 

“Weeeell…long story short, I come from a different timeline -the same one your current Superman came from- where I was the one and only superboy and also Tim’s best friend and part of the Young justice team until I got stuck in another dimension and then the realities got all jumbled up! Then Tim remembered me andfound me together with the new Young Justice team and we are now back together and will live forever in happily ever after. Or you know. Untill the next apocalipse”

They all stared at him. 

“What the hell?” Jason said at last. 

“Basically I’m on your side. Also I’m following Tim’s lead”

More staring. 

“Well, basically we are building our own operation on a sleep deprived coffee addict and a out of no-where Superman Clone with a terrible 90’s fashion sense! What could go wrong!” Jason concluded.

“Everything if we don’t leave soon” Dick said, and then, turning to Kon-el “Will talk more later. And you’ll explain everything to me again, slowly, after this mess is over with”

“Yes, sir!” 

They wasted no more time leaving the manor, afraid Lucius would finally found out that the looped video of them in the kitchen Tim had managed to link to the security cameras was dragging on for too long. 

“TT. Alfred would have never let us get away with this” Damian commented.

“No, you’re right. He would have seen right trough us. But I like to think he would have helped us behind B’s back” Damian could hear the smile in Dick’s voice trough the comm. 

Maya, Kathy and him were flying on Goliath’s back, accompanied at close distance by the mysterious superman clone. 

Richard and Jason had retrived their cycles (and a spare uniform for Damian) from a safe house not far from the manor and were following them on land. Their were all linked by comms on a frequency well away from Batman’s usual ones.

He would never admit it out loud, but Damian was well aware he owed Timothy big time. 

“So” Jason interjected “Are you finally going to explain what the heck is going on, Blondie? Cause I have to admit I still haven’t got a clue, except for the fact that apparently Sups junior went bazooka on his old home town”

If Kathy was offended by Jason tone, she didn’t say anything. Her face turned dark however, and Damian noticed Maya’s hand finding Kathy’s and holding onto it tight. 

Uh. What was THAT about. 

“I’m not sure myself of what’s going on. Jon appeared yesterday around one p.m… I had talked with him on the phone after he had come back from his ‘trip’, but I hadn’t met him yet since… I mean, at first I thought he was his father! Anyway, I went out to greet him and we hugged but he was…off. He looked angry… agitated. He started to say he didn’t feel well, so Itried to lead him inside and then..”

“Then the barn exploded” Maya interrupted her “a BIG, black gooey BOOM” she explained with a disgusted face. 

“Wait, you mean…THE BARN WHERE YOU KEPT THE DAMNED MANCHESTER COW??” Damian yelled, hair raising on the back of his neck. Memories of an out of control Jon flooded in his mind “Is he controlling Jon again?? Now that he is at full power? Also, what where you doing there exactly?” He added at the end, turning to Maya, who promptly turned to other way. 

“Wait, what has a cow to do with anything? Why is it always cows with you, demon brat? You’re losing me there, guys!” Jason protested. 

“No, it’s not that!” Kathy said “it wasn’t like last time! Bessy was harmless! Manchester had no way to escape from her! I’m sure of it! It was more like… Jon’s body kind of… absorbed Manchester black away from Bessy and into himself”

“yeah, it was pretty nasty” Maya added.

“That makes no sense” Damian replied, frustrated. 

“I know. But I don’t think it was something Jon did, I think… when I tried to reason with him, I felt something… something foreign inside of him. Like…a virus”

“A virus. He’s immune to sickness”

“Not like a sickness, like… an unwanted…guest”

An uneasy silence followed. 

“That doesn’t sound good” Dick said, voicing what everyone was thinking.

“I had almost succeeded in freeing him though. Jon is still in there, he was fighting it and then… then the freaking army arrived, they distracted and scared him and the red stuff took over again!”

“Wait, the army? The fucking army? WHY?” Jason yelled “where is the league?”

“I don’t know. But they have surrounded the city, they are not letting anyone in, or out. I barely managed to scoop these two up before they caught me too” Kon-el said, breaking his silence. 

“The army complicates things. Those idiots don’t know left from right and will only get in the way! Why is father letting them interfere?” Damian growled.

_“Because no superpowered individual can get close to him”_ a crackling voice said into their comms.

“Timmy!” Dick called “please have some good news for us” 

_“I’m afraid I don’t. Jon has been taken over by some kind of Virus, as Kathy already said, but it’s unknown to us. Even the green lantern corp ring can’t get a read on it. The only thing we know is that it absorbs any superpower it comes into contact with. Like … like an Amazo. But ten times stronger”_

_“_ GREAT. JUST WHAT WE NEEDED” Jason sighed.

“F _or this reason most of the league is being held back. By order of the usa government. They said that the threat is already too great as it is, and to be honest, I agree”_

“So what are they going to do? Throw a Kryptonite nuke at him? Why is father letting them control the league? I won’t let them touch an hair on Jon’s head!” Damian erupted “That’s exactly what those idiots want to do, isn’t it? Is Lex in on this too? Cause I can just see him and his stupid smirk!” 

“ _Actually Lex is on our side. Together with B he is trying to buy us time. For now they are keeping Jon contained with the help of the green lantern corp and all the members of the league that don’t have super-powers but… it won’t last long.”_

“Let me talk to him! Tell those idiots to let me in!”

_“Damian…”_

_“_ No! You listen to me for once! Kathy said she almost got to him! I’ll help her! Together we can save him!”

_“It’s too dangerous. B will never let you get close to him”_

“And what do you expect me to do? Watch as they destroy my best friend? Like hell!”

_ “I’m not saying that! But we need a plan! You can just throw yourself head first and hope for the best!” _

“If I need to, I will! I can take care of myself!”

“Ah to the ah, kid. NO. If there’s one thing we MUST have learned after the whole Bane fiasco, is that we are the bat FAMILY. We work best together. Gods, I can’t believe I’m the one saying this. I think I’m gonna throw up a little in my mouth. But you’re not going in there alone. We do this together”

“Well said, Jay!” Dick cheered “We’ll find a way! We have our superbrain Robin working on it already. Right, Timmy?”

_ “Ah-ah. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dick. Anyway. You get close to Hamilton, DON’T LET THE SOLDIERS SEE YOU. I… I might have an idea. But it’s not going to be easy. I’m working on it”. _

“Well, it better be a good idea. Because if it isn’t I’m going back to plan A” Damian said trough gritted teeth.

He lifted his eyes to find Kathy’s blue ones staring straight at him.

For once in their life they seemed to be in complete accord.

“Oh Joy…” maya sighed “we’re all going to die…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. What do you think? It might seem an abrupt change in pace, but I've actually hinted at the fact that there was something else going on with Jon and his "anger" ;)  
> I admit I have a weakness for improbable teams up in time of need! Will they get to Jon in time???? My poor babies! They can't catch a break!  
> Also the drawing is my first damijon fanart! I hope to make more... it's not a scene from this fic, obviously (YET) but i might draw something from this story in the future :>


	8. Smile, you're on national television!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am! Sorry for the wait again, this time a bit shorter :)   
> This chapter was reaaaaally hard to write. a few disclaimers before you read:   
> 1: I have never read Justice league comics, so I have no idea what point they are in canon, all my knowledge of it comes from the animated series and movie. So the justice league here is like the one over there. Sorry for any current canon inaccuracies.   
> 2: the Batman of tomorrow I referenced to is the one Tim Drake from Supersons of tomorrow in case you're interested  
> 3: sorry I don't have a number three except the fact that "Demian" by Hermann Esse is funny enough a book Damian would enjoy a lot, I think.

It had been sometime since Damian had felt this strong of an urge to end someone. For years now he had done his best to stay in his father’s lanes, to be the face of justice and hope, but at that moment, the effort not to draw his sword and cut the man he was spying on trough his binoculars was enormous. 

“I swear to god, if he doesn’t shut up…” he muttered under his breath from his perch among the old and rotting hay of an old barn. 

_“I know, I get the sentiment and I completely share it, but you have to keep yourself in check”_ came the voice of Tim, the friendly Jiminy cricket currently living in his ear. 

“I understand that! But I’ve never seen such insignificant arrogant and ridiculous homunculus before in my life!”

_“Really? Cause I can think of a few…”_ Interjected Jason.

_“Hood, how are things going on your end? Do you and N have a visual on them yet?”_

_“Not yet. Those damn soldiers are everywhere! What was B thinking, letting them swarm the place like this. It’s not like they’d be of any use against a Kryptonian! They’re sitting ducks!”_

_“Yes, I agree that the thing is suspicious. Robin, WAIT for my signal. DO NOT engage on your own, wait for Kathy’s signal! UNDERSTOOD?”_ Tim called out.

“TT…understood” he spit out.

A displeased growl distracted him from his anger. He turned to pet Goliath under the chin. “I know, buddy. But you have to stay hidden! I don’t want those idiots to shoot you, they can’t be trusted” 

Goliath nuzzled his hand, which earned him a smile.

He went back to focus on the scene he had been observing for almost an hour now.

The waiting was getting to him. 

The stupid short and stout man that was calling to Damian’s well repressed killing instincts was General Henderson. With each word coming out of his mouth Damian felt a pull toward the dark world.

He had taken to call it that after Jason had gifted him with an old book on the pretense that a title had never been more fitting. The book was called “Demian” with an E, which was probably Jason idea of a joke given how much the mispronunciation of his name bothered Damian. 

Despite that, the story had turned out to be quite captivating and had kept him up for an entire night. 

In it, the main character described his struggle between the two sides of the world, the bright, warm and righteous side represented by all that is sacred and good and pure, and the dark side, mysterious, fascinating, blasphemous, criminal and prohibited. It was a struggle he knew well. 

For an ironic twist of fate the “bright side” for him was represented by the dark and damp cave that alone embodied his father’s mission. The endless fight against evil he himself had sworn to partake in for the rest of his life. For other people however, the small man whom was now arguing with his father was a prominent exponent of the good side of the world as well. A general of the Us Army, a protector of the people. 

The one currently giving the order to shoot and kill Jon on sight. 

That couldn’t be right. Jon was… if there was an embodiment of all that was good and bright and pure in the world, that had to be Jon. His Jon. With his smile and blue eyes and his contagious laughter and his warm embrace. 

_I’m getting you back_ he kept thinking. Maybe if he thought of it strongly enough it could reach his friend, currently kept inside the big green dome that he could see far in the distance.

_I’m getting you back, safe and sound._

“First and foremost comes the safety of the people of the United States!” The thin gnarly voice came again trough the hacked com of his father.“If you would let Superman get close to him, with the Justice league’s help, I’m sure we can-”

“He can’t be trusted! And, AS YOU YOURSELF SAID, his powers could be absorbed by the target! Then we would have a crazy rampant alien with double the strength! No! He stays in the reinforced cage! He obviously has an emotional attachment to the target that makes him unsuitable for establishing contact!” 

“The boy is his son!!” 

“The ‘boy’ has enough power to destroy the world if left unchecked! WE are going to handle it. And YOU might still hide behind you silly costumes, but you still have to obey to the US government!”

Damian swore he could hear the Batman’s teeth grind. Oh, the irony to find his own words thrown back at him like that… and to think that once Damian might have even agreed with them…

“He hasn’t though” Batman rebuked “you’re right in saying that if he wanted, Superboy could destroy the world, but he didn’t yet! If the Lantern Corp dome is holding him, it means that he is not acting at full power! Something is holding him back. A part of him must be fighting against whatever is controlling him! If you would only let Superman talk to him! Even from a distance! I’d make sure to keep him safe!”

Damian was surprised to see his father plead like that. It wasn’t like him. He would expect his father to just ignore authorities and punch his way trough to get his way. Something was up. Something was holding HIM back. But what…?

“No! You and you circus act of crazies will NOT be allowed to act above the law any longer! I’ve had enough of silly men in silly costumes overwriting our authority! I might still not know who you are under that mask, but HIM!” The general said while pointing at where Superman containment cage must be “Clark Kent is a registered American citizen and if he doesn’t abide by the law, there will be consequences!!!”

Damian’s eyes widened so much the adesive of his domino pulled at his eyebrows. “Son of a…He’s threatening Superman!!! HOW DARE HE!”

His father’s fists were closed so tightly Damian wondered how the men in front of him still had a functioning jaw.

_“Yes”_ Tim confirmed. _“And not only him. There are soldiers “guarding” Lois and Lucius has detected some surrounding the perimeter of the Kent farm as well. Thankfully they still haven’t made the connection between Superboy and Jonathan Kent, but it probably won’t take them much longer”_

“ _If they touch a hair on top of Ma Kent’s head, Jon will be the last of their problems”_ Kon growled in the com. 

“ _Agreed”_ Tim reassured him. _”I’ll help you, too. But for now, please, make sure to deliver Kathy to J’onn without being detected! They need to start working on a way to save Jon as soon as possible and the only way she can even hope to get close to him is with his help!”_

_“Yeah, yeah, I got it wonder boy. We’re getting there. We put a few guards to sleep in the mean time. On my word, the girl could come in real handy in Young Justice missions”_

_“That’s because she’s awesome. Sorry though, she’s already taken”_ came Maya’s voice _“I’m doing just fine, by way, if anybody is interested! They’ll be here soon!”_

_“I can’t believe we’re doing this”_ Dick lamented _“B’s going to kill us”_

_“It’s a necessary evil”_ Tim reminded him. _“be careful however. Keep everyone safe”_

_“I could live without one or two sharks running after us for a while”_

_“Jason!”_

_“What? I'm saying what everyone is thinking! Either way, we’re in. Why, Superkid has done wonders with the place. I don’t think there is a brick still standing. There, we’ve spotted black Bat and Signal, so we’re going to join the party now. And Damian, if your boy toy kills me I’m coming back to hunt you. Hood out”_

“HE’S NOT-” Damian tried to protest, but got only static as an answer. He started pacing, his nervous energy building up. He wasn’t used to this. Usually in any mission he partook in, he was the one leading. Or at the very least in the thick of the action. This time however, he had to wait while the others prepared everything. 

_“We can’t risk you until we’re sure youand Kathy have a clear way to get to Jon. We need someone able to breach trough, to get an emotional response form him. Superman’s not available, but you and Kathy are his closest friends. If you get in now with Hood and Nightwing and you get hurt or unconscious we’re done for”_ Tim had said. And Damian had to begrudgingly accept. 

The plan was simple, and completely crazy. 

The army had created a closed-off perimeter all around the ruins of Hamilton county. They had managed to evacuate the citizens, with only a few people hurt and no casualties. It had probably been more thanks to the exceptional nature of Hamilton’s citizens that to the promptness of the military’s actions, but thankfully they weren’t aware of that yet. And as far as anyone was concerned, they were better off not knowing. The green lantern had called for reinforcement and had created a dome to contain Superboy, but no one seems to be too sure on how long it could hold him. What they had to do was keeping Jon occupied, which was already been taken care off by any member of the league with no superpower, black bat, signal and now Hood and N, while Kathy joined forces with Martian the manhunter to basically hack Jon’s brain. And Maya… yeah, that was the crazy part of the plan, the one that was probably going to send his father into a crazy frenzy of rage. 

Batrule number 1: SECRECY. 

But what they needed now was the exact opposite. The general was taking advantage of Superman’s crazy decision to reveal his identity, in a very undemocratic attempt to force him into inaction threatening the wellbeing of his family. What would the good people of America think of that? They were going to shine a huge spot light on what was happening. Focus America’s attention and righteous rage on what was happening so that they could buy time. The bastard had already tried to make Batman give up his kryptonite stash. His father had of course refused, going against his own principles, which had surprised Damian a lot. Lex Luthor had refused to help them kill Jon as well which had surprised Damian even more. But it was not going to take them long to find some and proceed to dispose of “the target”. No. They needed something to stall them. And nothing was going to work better than bad publicity. They were working pretty hard to keep this thing contained and under wrap. Thy were in for a big surprise. 

Damian sighed. He sat by Goliath side, his hand buried in the dragon-bat long fur, and waited. 

Bruce Wayne was having a bad day. A bad week. A really bad month. 

It was taking all of his self discipline not to sigh right into the general face. He was trying as hard as possible to distract himself with the knowledge that Selina was close by, well concealed and probably having the time of her life seeing him trying to resist the urge topummel the small ridiculous man to the ground. 

He was missing the commissioner Gordon now more than ever. Gotham had its share of stupid police and corrupted higher ups, but this person spitting on his cowl with his red plump face and small ratty eyes was taking the cake. 

The thing was, strictly speaking the man was right. Usually Bruce would agree that in the face of a great danger, necessary measures needed to be taken. But the man wanted to straight up kill Jonathan Kent. The son of his best friend, and best friend of his son. Even if Batman didn’t have a no killing policy, the idea of ending a seventeen years old kid without trying anything else possible first made his stomach turn. 

He had lost a son. More than once. He would not let that happen to Clark. They had all lost enough people. No. Loosing Jon wasn’t an option. Which meant he had to do something he wasn’t at all used to: relay blindly on somebody else’s plan. Sure, if Tim’s suspicious absence was any indication, it was a Tim made plan, and the boy was possibly smarter than even himself, but still. Lucius had already informed him of Damian’s escape and reasonably it was to be expected Jason and Dick were right behind him. For now all he could do was trying his best to keep kryptonite away from the military, an enormous feat that was requiring all of Lucius and Lex’s help to try and interfere with availability an acquisition of any shard of the damned metal they could find.

The boys probably had a plan. Bruce had to trust them and buy them time. If that meant acting unusually obtuse and stand like an idiot doing nothing while half listening to this hateful bubbling pot of a man, then be it. 

Trust. It felt strange. 

Suddenly something broke the still tension of the room. The first indicator was Clark’s down turned face snapping up to attention, followed soon after by a commotion getting closer.

“Sir! We have a situation!” A running soldier informed the general, wearily eyeing Bruce. 

“What? Did we get the kryptonite finally?” 

“no…well…”

“What is it? Speak out!”

“Well…”

Bruce was still looking at Clark, who seemed to be staring straight at thin air. He knew Clark well enough to know that a focused stare like that could only mean one thing. He got a confirmation when the empty air in front of them rippled, and a white slim figure appeared, holding out her phone like someone ready to take a selfie.

“Hi, there! This is nobody!” She said to her phone “and this gentlemen behind me is Henderson the friendly general! He wants to kill superbly!” 

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? Girl! Stop this immediately!” The general screamed, turning, if possible, even more red. 

Maya Ducard did nothing of the sort, but instead focused his phone to record Clark’s cage 

“See? They imprisoned Superman and are now trying to kill his son, Superboy! What do you think of that, America?” She continued. 

Bruce, as well as everyone else present, was paralyzed. He honestly didn’t know what to do. What was Tim thinking? And where had Maya come from? 

“Take her phone away!” The General ordered to his soldiers, first to recover from their collective stupor. Maya was very fast however, and able to switch her invisibly on and off.

“Na-ah, old man, no can do. It’s useless anyway, they are all already watching!” She explained with a mocking tone, getting close to the man and actually hugging him sideway, her phone held high in front of them “here, smile!! You’re on national television!” 

The general lounged for the phone, trying to take it away, but Maya turned invisible again and the idiot only caught thin air. 

“Come back out! Shoot her! Take away her phone!” Henderson kept shouting turning this way and that like a headless chicken. 

“You!” He pointed again at superman “ You can see her, can’t you? Where is she? You knows what you’re risking here, don’t you?” He remained him menacingly, and for the first time in their long friendship, Bruce saw Clark flinch back. He saw red. This had to stop. He wanted that man away from Clark. NOW. 

A black whip landed right between the general pointing finger and the glass of Superman’s cage. The little man retracted his hand like he had been burned.

“Now, now, general, that’s no way to act” purred Selina, jumping down from her hiding spot “You’re such a bad boy” 

“Cat woman? What are you doing here? Is the league joining forces with criminals now? I should have figured! Shoot her!” 

“Now, now, general!” Maya chided echoing Selina’s words and reappearing right beside her “killing people is really bad. There could be small girls watching!” 

“TAKE HER DAMN PHONE AWAY!” 

The same soldier from before stepped up again, his hand uselessly hold his rifle “About that… Sir, there are dozen of news trucks and reporters right outside camp! We…we’re kind of surrounded sir”

“WHAT? HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPENED? I TOLD YOU TO KEEP THE DAMNED JOURNALISTS OUT OF THIS”

“We don’t know sir… we thought we had it all under control, checking to contain all possible leaks and then they…appeared from nowhere…”

Bruce smirked. Yeah, the boys had a plan alright. A crazy coffe and sleep deprivation induced plan. But he was wearing a bat costume every night to fight crime…who was he to judge? He was tying Tim to a bed after this. 

With the corner of his eye he saw a soldier raise a gun to point at Selina while Maya’s attention was focused on the general. Time to throw caution out of the window. If they were putting on a show, it better be a good one after all. 

Damian jumped to his feet as son as he heard the gun shots start. He didn’t have a visual on his father or Maya anymore, all he could tell was that things were going to hell down there, and fast. 

A heard of news trucks had swarmed the border of the city, dozen of reporters were already setting stations and rolling. He had already seen trough his phone that pretty much every public screen in Gotham and Metropolis, and probably in the rest of the US as well was transmitting maya’s stream. Tim had done it, Amarica was watching. 

Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne was scary and absolutely nuts. Not that he’d ever admit it but Damian secretly wanted to hug him right now. 

The gun shots worried him though. He had thought the general had been a pompous idiot, apparently he was a dangerous one as well. He wanted to act. He was done waiting. He would not watch as someone he loves gets killed, NOT AGAIN. 

_“Ermh… guys? Whatever you need to do, do it fast?”_ Came Jason’s voice trough the com again _“Because Super junior here is getting royally pissed and the green lantern dome is more cracks than anything else at this point and-“_

A deafening crashing sound and a blast of energy cut him off as the dome disintegrated, knocking Damian back like an explosion. Goliath thankfully caught him and took flight, seconds before the barn collapsed on them. 

_“Well. Too late. Cat’s out of the bag now, and baby bird and legally blonde need to get here. NOW”_

“We’re here!” Kathy finally called, joining him with the big green Martian at her side while Kon zoomed by them to go join his father on the ground. 

“I hope you know what to do?” He asked them while they flew at full speed toward Jon.

Kathy and J’onn looked at each othersnervously “ Yes. I’m sure that if we join forces we can save him but you’ll have to distract him. You’ll be completely vulnerable…”

“I can take care of myself. Let’s do this”

He wasn’t ready for what they found once they located Jon. Sure this wasn’t the first time he had seen Jon out of control, and indeed the parallels with what had already happened when Manchester Black had taken control of him were strong, but that time Jon had been a small kid with scuffed knees. This was an almost adult kryptonian at full powers, his entire form radiatingenergy like a small sun.

Gone was the blue of his irises, both the pupils and sclera were a wall of deep bloody red. For the first time his paternal heritage had predominated on his maternal one. 

He looked like an alien.

Damian braced himself. This was Jon. He was still in there, somewhere. He had to believe it. 

“Let’s do this!” He repeated, directing Goliath to dive straight towards Jon, that had turned to look at him the moment he had spoken.

“We need to immobilize him!” Tim called out from the ground, following them on his red bird.

“Robin!”

Damian took out the green batarang from his tool belt. It was the same one he had thrown to Jon the first time he had met him. Call him sentimental. He had actually kept it. 

“Superboy!” He called, standing on Goliath's back in his full height “Jon” he whispered, knowing the other could still hear him.

“I know you’re still in there! Fight it! You can win. I know you can! Don’t be an idiot!” 

Jon had stopped attacking the others, instead focusing entirely on Damian. He tilted his head to the side, while the red tendrils of matter whispering around him slowed to a crawl.

Well, he got his attention alright.

  
“Now!” 

Five grappling guns shot at the same time, tightening around Jon’s body like vines. Normally this would be nothing more than a passing impediment for a kryptonian, but it bought enough time for Damian to throw his own kryptobatarang, a rope attached to it that fastened right around Jon’s neck. Damian winced, but pulled on the cord nonetheless, forcing the sharp side of the weapon to catch on the ligament of Jon’s shoulder. 

Superboy screamed and fought against his containment but soon lost his hold on gravity, his strength failing him.

Whatever hold the virus had on him seemed to have made him stronger as well, since Jon kept up his fight against the ropes with quite more energy that a kryptonian with a shard of Kryptonite stuck in his flesh usually had. 

Goliath landed on the ground in front of him, and Damian stepped down, walking right up to Jon’s struggling from, while his brothers and sister got closer, guns firmly held in hand and the three green lanterns pitching in to help with green chains reinforcing around the teen. 

Blue and green light snaked around them, forming a blinding circle.

Damian focused on Jon.

He knew his brothers were saying something, probably cautioning him to be careful, but Damian wasn’t listening anymore. 

All that existed was him and Jon.

The sweet face that had greeted him just a few days before upon waking up was now turned into an hideous grin of pain and fury, his teeth bared and the vein in his forehead protruding in the effort of freeing himself. 

Damian however, was not afraid. Without even realizing his arm stretched toward him, crossing the few feet separating them. His gloved fingers stopped a few inches away from Jon’s cheek, a faint tremor shaking it, not due to strain. 

“Jon…” he called again, but the half-kryptonian expression didn’t change, it seemed to get even more murderous.

Damian took a second to think of what he was doing and why. Time seemed to have stopped. Would he have acted like this, risking the lives of so many people to save one, if it was anybody else? He’d like to think he would, but he wasn’t so sure. But Jon, JON, he couldn’t… 

But why…?

And did it matter now?

He shook his head, his other hand coming up to his own face and taking off his mask. 

His father was literally going to kill him, if he survived this. 

He closed the final distance, cupping Jon’s face with both of his hands, his mask pushing against Jon’s left cheek. 

“Jon” he repeated, this time more strongly, his forehead coming to rest on the other’s, his eyes looking straight into those empty red holes 

“Jon, come back to me”

He didn’t know what else to say. It was simple. He refused to continue living without him. He gave up so much already, this is where he drew the line. 

He screwed his eyes shut, his finger digging in the cold flesh, red tendrils coming up to grip his glowed hands, getting under the fabric, piercing his skin. 

He didn’t care. 

“Jon! Please!” He whispered with such strength of desperation he surprised even himself “I can’t do this without you…come back to me!” 

He opened his eyes again, to find the red ones staring straight back, Jon’s face no longer furious but confused, his mouth slightly ajar.

“…Jon…?”

“…Da…mi…”

Damian let out a wet chuckle. A part of his brain hoped Jason hadn’t heard him, or he would never hear the end of it. 

“Yes!…yes, Jon, focus on me! Fight it! You have to fight it!!!!You can-”

A loud sharp noise interrupted him. For a few seconds his brain didn’t process it, concentrated as it was on Jon and Jon only. When a screamed followed, he was forced to turn his head away, to find Kathy laying on the floor a dark puddle painting the grass red under her.

“YOU BASTARD!” Screamed Maya, appearing out of nowhere and throwing herself on the damned general, his pistol still raised. 

“I’m gonna kill you!!!!” 

Damian didn’t understand anything anymore, where was his father? How had the general gotten here? What…?

“NO! I’m not going to let you ruin this! It is too good of an opportunity! I’m done with you freaks of nature, EARTH DOESN’T NEED YOU! You want the world to see? Look at him then!” He seemed to scream at the sky “he’s a monster!” As the mad man kept screaming he saw his father followed by Clark raining down on the man, a flurry of bullets cascading all around them, but it was too late. He felt Jon shake under him, and the cords holding him snapping. The red matter started swirling around him like sun’s flares. , Jon gaining altitude. Suddenly he remembered the words of the batman of tomorrow, future Tim Drake, from all those months ago, his warning. 

_“The detonation, the huddled masses. The burning flesh. The name of the bomb will be Jonathan Kent. Superboy, son of superman…and I’m the only one willing to do what it takes to stop him”_

Well. Not the only one. 

In a split second decision Damian Jumped to catch one of the ropes stil hanging from Jon’s body, before it got too high up for him to reach. Quickly he started to scale it up to grab on Jon’s body, while his brothers were too occupied to stop him. Once Nightwing caught up it was too late, he only heard his screams of protest, they were already hundreds of feet in the air.

“Robin!! Get down, it’s too dangerous!!” He called in desperation. 

Damian reached Jon’s back, and grabbed onto his neck, his legs coming to latch around his torso. 

“JON!!! LISTEN TO ME! STOP THIS!” But it was like screaming at a wall. Red tendrils had almost covered Jon’s entire skin, the ground and the craziness going on there was impossible to distinguish anymore. The air was getting rare and too hot and cold at the same time. Jon’s body was burning, and he could feel scorching vines cutting trough his kevlar. 

The sky was starting to turn dark. How high up had they gone? He should probably get his rebreather out pretty soon.

He didn’t know what to do. He was lost. It couldn’t end like this. It wasn’t the first time he had found himself in such a dire situation. The first time, it didn’t end so well for him. He could still remember what his last moments felt like. 

He didn’t want to die.

The second time it had happened… the cracking noise of Alfred’s neck…

No.

Between the two choices, he much preferred the first. If he died in the process, so be it.

He climbed up higher on Jon, using the boy's outstretched arm to pivot his position and come face to face with his friend. The only part of his face still uncovered by the vines were his eyes and cheekbones, but those too would soon be enveloped. 

Damian did something he never thought he would do. Something that at such a moment seemed just right. 

“Jon…” he said, brushing a few tendrils away from him.

He kissed the small patch of skin still free, just by his right eye. If this had to be his last moment with Jon, he wanted to feel a bit of warmth and keep it for himself.

“I trust you…” he said, hoping that his friend could still hear him…

And let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaah. I know. Enough with the cliff hangers. This will be the last one. I pinkie swear. Also next chapter we're getting to the good stuff. If Damian survive this ( *insert evil laugh* ) and also I'm craving fluff here. So there's that. We're done with the action scenes, we're going back to *SPOILER* !


	9. On top of the world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna say much except that you should definitely play John William's Superman theme at the start of this cause it deserves it

Jon was forgetting something important. 

His head was full of screams, his heart beating like the wing of a hummingbird, his whole body felt like being back in the volcano prison, alight with pain that seemed to radiate from his neck down. 

There was something important, if only he could THINK. He needed to think. 

With an enormous effort he managed to bring a hand to his face - _why did his body felt so heavy?_ \- he touched the space just beneath his right eye - _why_ \- someone was calling him - _had been calling him-_ there was SOMETHING - _Someone_ \- CALLING HIM. 

_“Jon…I trust you”_

He forced his eyes opened.

The sky was black. 

He was in space. 

Why…?

He looked down at himself but all he could see was red. 

Red…

Red…

R-E-D…

It came back to him. Saturn girl, the anger, the pain, Kathy, Hamilton on fire - _BECAUSE OF HIM-_ and Damian, Damian…

_“DAMIAN!!!”_

He plunged towards Earth at full speed, an overpowering strength battling his every moment, and pain, so much pain, his neck felt like it was about to explode. Only one thing held such a power over him, and the faint green glow he could see from the corner of his eye was confirmation enough. But that wasn’t important now. 

Damian. Damian was falling to his death.

He squinted, piercing the clouds with heat vision, and suddenly he was there. Just a dot really. How high up had they been when Damian let go of him? Was he even still breathing? He had to be faster! Yet something around him felt like a million tons holding him back. He pushed himself, the revolting anger clouding his senses again, tinting his vision red until …

His eyes caught a green boot, peaking out. He was getting close enough to see him clearly now. He looked so small. Completely enveloped by his black and yellow cape. 

Breakable. 

His unbreakable Robin was going to crash and break into a thousand tiny pieces.

Jon let out an inhuman scream, pulling at the force restraining him with his all of his core strength. He would make it. He had to make it, He could do this! 

He gained speed, little by little, the sky blurring by, faster than a speeding bullet. 

A mile. Half a mile. A few hundred feet…

Robin was mask-less, and looking right at him. 

The bastard was grinning. 

Jon stretched his arms, and after a moment they closed around Damian’s form, pulling him close. 

“I got you” Jon said with a sigh of relief by Damian's hear.

“About time. This is going to hurt” Damian answered, and without preambles pulled the fire out oh Jon’s shoulder. 

IT HURT LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER. 

But soon Jon felt his strength surging back. 

He got his control back on gravity, and just in time, cause the ground was coming right up to meet them in what was going to be a very unflattering splat.

He felt Damian wrap his legs around him like a monkey, his feet crossing behind Jon’s back. 

Jon knew this really wasn’t the moment, but RAO. The boy he loved was literally all over him. He could smell Damian spicy scent, he could feel his heart right against his own. 

He could do this. He could do anything right now.

With a last effort he corrected their trajectory, flying parallel to the ground for a bit, Damian’s cape brushing grass, before they were shooting up in the sky again.

“Up, up and AWAY!” Jon wanted to scream and he did, and he laughed and hugged Damian tight to himself, spinning around, suspended among white clouds.

He got him. 

He made it!

He was on top of the world. 

“I swear to god, if you don’t put me down, Kent” Damian said muffled against his neck. 

Reluctantly, Jon let go of his hair to allow Damian to pull his face back. Despite his words, the boy wonder was smiling, fondness written all over him.

“And what if I don’t” Jon smiled back.

“I’m going to stuck this batarang up your ass” Damian _fondly_ answered back, holding up the bloodied weapon. 

“How romantic”

“I’m all about romanticism”

“Aren’t you”

They were both smiling at each others like idiots. Jon was well aware. But sue him. If his life had a soundtrack this moment deserved a pretty epic one. 

He leaned closer to Damian, lost in the moment. 

Damian’s eyes had flecks of gold in them. Uh…

That’s, of course, when he finally registered the gun shots coming from below them.

“Uh… gunshots” he commented quite dumbly. 

“…yeah. Stupid soldiers. We should probably go take care of that…” Damian answer without much conviction.

“We should…” 

“Yes”

“Right”

“…”

“…”

Are we going to burst in there like this?” Jon reluctantly asked. He really didn’t want Damian to let go of him. 

“No. Definitely not” Damian said, lingering for just a second before unlatching his legs to stand right on Jon’s feet.

He pushed on his toes to be level with Jon’s face. 

Jon really shouldn’t find that unbearably cute and endearing. But he did. 

Damian reached behind his back to put away the damned batarang and pulled out a spare domino mask.

“Before we go” Damian said suddenly very seriously “how much do you remember?” 

Jon’s heart sank. 

“Not much, I remember only a few images…oh, god, Damian, what did I do?”

“Nothing we can’t fix. Together” Robin said with certainty, squeezing the back of Jon’s neck. 

“Come on. Let’s go and put an end to this”

_“General Henderson waiting for trial after he acted without any order of the National Security Council and attacked one of America’s symbols and his family, the same hero that has recently revealed his identity to be that of famous reporter Cla-”_

_ZAP_

_“Ongoing investigation have revealed that the general had been monitoring any movement by the justice League to find the perfect opportunity to enact his own personal vendetta against-"_

_ZAP_

_“No casualties reported from the all out battle between a corrupted brach of the army and the Justice Lea-”_

_ZAP_

_“Still unclear to the identity of the young female hero that courageously stepped in front of armed soldiers to reveal to the world the evil-”_

_ZAP_

“EHY! They were talking about dear old me! Give me the remote!” Maya screamed, lounging for the object currently in the clutches of a very bored blonde girl. 

“Nope. I’m tired of them repeating the same sensationalistic bullshit over and over!!”

“But they were talking about ME” 

“Yeah, yeah, and I’m stuck on this couch for the time being and it’s MY couch, in MY house, so MY RULES!” One smirking Kathy Braden replied, sticking out her tongue.

Maya seethed in silence while the blonde pulled up Netflix.

“If you pull up another episode of that god awful show with the stupid cheerleaders and the idiot with the benie, I SWEAR, I’m taking Goliath and I’m leaving!”

“Oh, really? And leave poor old me all alone? With on one to take care of me?” Kathy asked, bating long eyelashes and sticking out a trembling lower lip. With dramatic speed she grabbed the hand trying to steal the remote from her and pulled it to her heart “You’d be so very cruel???” She inquired, getting up close and personal while staring in a pair of very brown, very wide eyes.

“You…YOU! THIS IS CHEATING!!!” 

“Yes. But does it work…?”

Judging by the very becoming shade of red Maya’s cheek were turning to, it did. 

“you two need to get a room. I don’t want to be witness to your disgrace, Maya Ducard” Damian interrupted them from the doorway leading to the kitchen. 

“No one told you come here right now, bird boy” Kathy pointed out, firmly holding Maya back as the girl was scrambling to get to a safer distance probably in order to preserve her ‘baby brother’s innocence.

Said baby brotheralready seemed to have a pretty good idea of Kathy’s intentions, since his face was just as read as Maya’s. 

Kathy sighed in exasperation. Super heroes. All spunky on the battle field, a tragedy when any kind of feeling was involved.

“Well? Are my pancakes with strawberry and cream with ice tea and bacon ready?” She asked with the air of someone about to give a two star review on yelp. 

Damian scrunched his face, probably biting back a very scaring remark about being no one’s servant, when Jon thankfully came back into the room carrying a very large tray with a breakfast suited for kings. Or in this case, queens.

“All ready and delicious, just for you, m’lady!” He declared with a million dollar smile “Only the best for the best friend I could ever ask for int he whole wide universe”

“Mpfh” Kathy answered, non plussed. Her face told another story, however, as she observed the wide range of mouthwatering food and drinks, down to the arrangement of wild flowers complimenting it all.

“Ok, ok, you pass, enough with the pleasing act!”

“Hey, I was serious!” Jon protested. Kathy laughed, delighted. 

“I know, I know. I’m awesome. And starving. Let’s eat!”

They all sat down to tuck in, the girls on the couch and the boys on the floor. 

Bangs and shouts could be heard from outside, the common noises of a building site in full swing. A few days had passed since those dreadful moments when they had thought they were going to loose everything they loved. All things considered they had come out of it quite unscathed. 

No one had been seriously hurt, and Kathy had only been grazed by a bullet in her left leg, now propped on the fluffiest pillow Jon had been able to find. 

Jon hadn’t take the thing too well, however, and felt deeply responsible for his actions and the consequences they had brought. No one held him responsible, but he couldn’t quite forgive himself yet. 

Damian looked at him from the corner of his eye.Jon was quietly picking at his food, his eyes downturned.They hadn’t really talked about any of it yet, there hadn’t been time,and Damian…he wasn’t good at comforting people. He really wasn’t. 

Jon had been there for him, when Damian had needed him most. 

He wanted to be there for him too. 

“This is actually quite good!” Kathy exclaimed, pointing at the chocolate chip and cinnamon pancakes, you made these? Have you been holding out on me, Kent?” She asked, not so subtly trying to pull her friend out of his grey cloud of misery.

Jon’s head snapped up “…what..? Oh, the pancakes? No, I only cooked them. Damian took care of the batter! So you should compliment him, really…”

Kathy rosed an eyebrow at Damian, who resisted the urge to raise one back. 

“Richie Rich can actually cook?”

Damian sighed. 

“It is a recipe I’ve seen made many times, I simply copied it… it is one of Alfred’s recipes. And I’ve often kept him company while he baked”

Damian continued eating like nothing had happened, even though his heart was racing. 

It had been the first time in weeks since he had been able to talk about the dear butler in a normal manner. 

He’d make sure it wasn’t the last. He would be strong. For Alfred …and for Jon. 

A warm hand found his own laying on the floor and squeezed. Damian looked to the side to find Jon smiling at him.

He squeezed back. 

They would be alright. 

Two weeks after that Hamilton county was ready to open back for business. 

Having a population mainly made by aliens as well as having three superpowered individuals at their back and call, paired up with the help of Wayne enterprise trust fund for “Alien catastrophe relief” did wonders to rebuilt a city from its rubbles.

“And of course we’re going to celebrate that with a fair!” Kathy protested exasperated “What else?” 

“You like the fair!” Jon reminder her, as she threw yet another discarded piece of clothing at him. Her newly rebuilt room was a battle ground of clothes in disarray at this point. 

“True. By the way what do you think of this?” She asked again holding a blue fluffy sweater up to her chest. 

“It’s…nice…?”

“That’s the same thing you said for the last twenty options!!”

“Hey, I don’t know, ok? They are all nice, you’re beautiful, they’re nice, you will look awesome no matter what you wear! You know I’m no expert when it comes to clothing” 

“if I can’t get a good outfit out of my gay best friend then what’s the point” Kathy spat at him with narrowed eyes.

“That’s a stereotype”

“I mean, I should have expected it, why am I asking advice to Mr flannel shirts and geeky glasses”

“Hey! It’s a family tradition!” Jon protested, self-consciously tugging on his red flannel shirt “Plus if we’re following the stereotypes you should be the one wearing flannel. And an undercut. And-”

“Ok, ok, I get it. No stereotypes. Jeez. There, I’m done. How do I look?”

Jon tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

Down to her fluffy sky blue sweater, pink shorts and glittery stockings with white laced boots, Kathy looked perfect. Her blond hair flowed freely on her shoulder, wavy from being tied up in braid for so long.

“Ten out of ten, would date. You know, if I wasn’t gay and in love with batman’s son. Maya is lucky to have you”

Kathy sigh, satisfied.

“Yeah, about that” she came to sit next to him “You still haven’t told me how THAT happened, not really. I want details, Kent”

Jon smiled sheepishly. It felt good having someone to talk to, he knew he could count on Kathy to keep silent and not judge. Perks of having a best friend which is actually as much as alien and a wierdo as you are. 

“Well… I don’t really know how to explain it yet. I still feels so new and…weird”

“Good weird, though, right?”

Jon felt his smile stretch from ear to ear “yeah, definitely good.” 

“Ugh. Never smile like that again, you creep. Go kiss your bat boy already and put all of us out of our misery”

“K-kiss? We haven’t-I mean, he doesn’t know! I really-I mean…” his shoulder slumped “I really don’t think he feels the same… I’m just happy to be with him and be there for him”

“Excuse me, what? You don’t think he feels the same? REALLY? Are we talking about the same bat boy? The same psyco that followed your trail like an hell houndon a war path all the way from Gotham ready to destroy anyone to save you? THAT same bat boy?”

Jon blushed “It’s not…It’s not like that. And he’s not a psyco! He’s just…intense. But he’s also loyal and reliable. He’d do that for anyone…” he concluded with a bitter smile. 

Kathy was staring at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Kent…you’re an idiot”

“What? WHY?” 

She didn’t have time to tell him why, cause at that moment they heard Jon’s mother calling them from down stairs.

“Ok, fine, we’ll talk about this later. About you parents…” she got closer as they were heading down the stairs and started whispering, like that could keep his nosy parents out if they really wanted to listen in “they don’t know, do they?” Jon swallowed nervously “about Damian, or about the gay thing?”

“Both”

“…No…? I haven’t told them. And I don’t plan to do it any time soon… I’m not ready. But honestly? I think my mom suspects something”

“Because she has eyes on the back of her head?”

“That, and cause there’s only so many time you can see you son snuggling with his best friend in bed without getting suspicious”

“You were snuggling in bed???” She asked whispering at such a high frequency that if he had been listening with his super hearing he would have turned permanently deaf.

“Rao, Kathy! Can you whisper any louder? I thing the people of Metropolis haven’t heard you yet!”

“Heard what?” A voice behind them asked. 

Jon turned abruptly, almost tripping trough the last two steps.

Damian caught him on the landing, holding him by the elbow.

“Very smooth, Kent” 

“Shut up” he mumbled, blushing even harder.

“So, what haven’t the good people of Metropolis haven’t heard yet?” Damian asked, amused. 

“That Kathy is a terrible friend” Jon said, turning to glare at her. 

For once, however, she wasn’t paying attention to them in the slightest. 

She was all busy blushing while Maya adjusted a lock of her long hair behind her ear.

“TT. Let’s go” Damian quipped, pulling him by his elbow towards the light of the Hamilton fair. 

Jon loved Hamilton’s fairs. The world was alight with lights and everyone was smiling and happy. He had missed them so much during his prison, when he thought all that was left for him had been pain, darkness and solitude. 

This particular fair was going to be quite special. They were already half-way trough March and the evening was just the right side of chilly. 

Meaning that if he huddle a little bit closer to Damian for warmth while they were swinging on the ferry wheel it wouldn’t even look too suspicious. 

“TT I don’t get it” Damian was saying “You can fly. What’s the appeal of sitting going round on a metal contraption that doesn’t even get higher than twenty feet from the ground?”

“Oh, shut it, you. Stop being a grump and look! It’s beautiful…”

For some reason Damian didn’t had a smart answer ready. Jon felt him relax against him. 

They just sat there, together, looking at the spectacle below them. 

And a spectacle indeed it was, and one of the most peculiar. 

Every member of the league that could make it had come, together with their families. Most of the Batfamily was there, as Jon could see, and they were all over the place. On the left he could see Jason and Dick battling over some shooting game, trying to win a huge panda plushie for Damian’s sister Cass, who was hanging back smiling with the blonde girl…Stephanie? And an African American boy whose name Jon didn’t know yet. By the candy stand he spotted his newly acquired brother Kon together with Tim Drake. They were sharing a very pink cotton candy, laughing at something, their heads close together. 

Their respective fathers were-

“Omg, who managed to put a unicorn headband on your father’s head?” Jon bursted out, his eyes wide.

“You own father, I believe. He’s got a matching one, see?”

Jon wished he couldn’t.

“…why?”

“Beats me. My father looks good however. Maybe he should wear one on patrol”

Jon turned to look at him in horror, and Damian…

Damian looked back for a few seconds with a complete blank expression, until suddenly his face scrunched up, an awful snort escaping his nose, and then another, in a sound much resembling a faulty car engine, to finally end up throwing his head back and letting out a full belly laugh.

Jon was …

No. 

Oh, no. 

No, no, no, he was doomed. 

He was SO gone for this boy.

He too started to laugh, without knowing the reason, without being able to stop. His stomach hurt, he was happy. 

He collapsed on Damian’s lap and Damian collapsed on top of him, snorting again and again, and with every new snort they laughed even more.

The entire fair was probably staring at them right now, but none of them seemed to care.

Once both has lost any strength to keep laughing they just found themselves shoulder against shoulder, smiling like idiots. Somehow Jon’s hand had found his way on top of Damian’s.

They had reached the top of the ferry wheel, And even without flying Jon felt that sensation again, like being at the top of the world.

He turned back to Damian, and leaned in…

“Thank you” he whispered “for being there for me”

He kissed Damian on the cheek.

Warm, soft, perfect. 

Safe.

END OF PART ONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See??? I promised both a fast update AND a fanart and I delivered. I know, unbelievable.  
> Well. Here comes the end of part 1 of this story! I thought of actually ending this fic here and then starting a sequel but nah, too much hassle. So we keep going from here!  
> We're mostly done with the angst though (but not really) and we're finally entering into the FUN PART. Well, fun for us, not for Damian. Cause this the part where he makes a fool of himself, bwuahahahahaha  
> Here comes the awkward fumbling pining Dami that has no clue on how romance someone without making it look like he wants to kill them. And let's not forget that Jon has a really awkward talk waiting for him at home, lol.  
> Yeah, it's gonna be FUN. So stick with me ❤️


	10. Love makes us act like we are fools

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weeell. Consider this the start of part 2 :)  
> I meant to go straight to the cutesy stuff but... it's Damian we're talking about. Guy got issues. He basically MADE me write this chapter. Let's admit it Damian is the kind of guy that for each step forward in the emotionl department, takes ten backwards ... he needs constant nudges in the right direction  
> I apologize in advance for the too many references in this chapter. I explained some of them at the end

START OF PART TWO

This was unacceptable. 

He was Damian Al Ghul Wayne Ibn al Xu’ffasch, Robin, superhero. 

He not going to succumb to… this. 

He was stronger than this. 

This didn’t make any sense. 

It had to stop. 

He sit up in his bed to find Titus staring at him, tongue dangling from his snout. 

He sighed. 

His room was still dark, the sky outside his window had just started to lighten up a bit. 

He turned on his phone to find the numbers 4:05 a.m. glaring back at him. 

“Are you up for a run, dog?”

Training and discipline. That was going to be the trick. 

Training and discipline. 

And a whole lot of denial, a voice he tried to suppress kept repeating in his head while he get out his running gear. 

By the time 8 am turned around and the first signs of life could be heard from the manor he had already run 10 laps around the grounds, done push up, sword training, fed bat-cow and weeded the flower beds. He wasn't letting them go to waste, Alfred had always kept them in perfect conditions. He walked back inside intent on getting a quick smoothy for breakfast when he was met by a delicious pancake smell. 

Alfred’s pancake recipe. 

His heart twinged. 

He followed the smell to the main kitchen. Someone was humming contentedly behind the closed door.

Richard. 

Damian lightly tried to back track his steps… a timid truce had been established between him and his brother but the day hadn’t started in the best of ways and he-

“I can hear you ~baby bat” Richard sing-songed “come inside and help me…the zombies are coming out soon”

Damian begrudgingly went inside. 

“What the hell are you wearing” he spat out as soon as his eyes landed on Dick. 

“What? Oh, this?” He asked pointing to his apron “I think it’s adorable. Selina got it for me”

“Off course she did”

“I’m pretty sure she got you one too. What did yours say?”

“I don’t know. I burned it already”

“Awwww come on. They’re pretty funny”

Damian looked again at the “Mr good lookin’ is cookin’” blue writing on black and frowned even deeper.

“Well at least it’s not as embarrassing as father’s” he muttered with a disgusted expression. 

“Oh? I haven’t seen it yet. What did it say?”

“I’m not repeating that”

“Party pooper”

“Is he home?” He asked while picking up the plates, not knowing for sure how many he should get. Somehow Alfred always knew. 

“Yeah. He got back from patrolling about 4 hours ago but he said he wanted to have breakfast with us. And Tim’s coming down too”

“He would have been done much faster if he had let me help!” Damian protested. 

“And he would have, if you didn’t look like a zombie yourself. At what time did you get up today? The bags under your eyes rival Tim’s. And that’s a record”

“I resent that” Robin n.3 answer, trudging trough the door and flopping ungracefully in a chair. 

“Coffeeeeeeee” he groaned. Like a zombie. 

“It will bring you to your early grave, Timothy” Damian said, still handing him a warm and ridiculous red robin mug full of tar smelling coffee.

Tim stared blearily at it before chugging it down at the same speed of an alcoholic drinking beer. 

“Where did you even get this…?” 

“Selina” Damian and Dick intoned simultaneously. 

“Uh. I didn’t even know they made red robin’s mugs. Anyway, things were quiet last night. Just a couple of drug busts. And B WOULD let you patrol if you would just explain to ANY OF US why you’re not sleeping at all. He’s just worried, D. We all are. This isn’t like you” Tim explained, looking a bit more human and extending his mug to be refilled. 

Damian refilled it with decaf; after the first cup Tim couldn’t really tell the difference for a little bit. It was his duty as a younger brother to make sure he didn’t fry his brain before the age of 25. They needed that brain after all. 

“There’s nothing wrong with me”

“At what hour did you wake up today, again?”

“At the same hour Alfred used to wake me up when I went to school AND patrolled at night!”

“Yes, but you used to nap in the afternoon”

“I’m not a toddler, Drake. I don’t need ‘naps’”

“You DO need at least 5 hours of sleep!” 

“AND YOU DON’T?”

“Ok, let’s stop” Dick interjected, depositing a mountain of steaming pancakes between them as a peace offering. “Damian is right, by the way, Timmy. You need to sleep more”

“BUT” Tim tried to answer “But” Dick stopped him and turned to Damian, who had curled into a protective stance with his arms crossed in front of him and his shoulders drawn up to his ears “but if you are having trouble sleeping, or having nightmares, OR ANYTHING, we can help you. We have all been there, baby bat. Don’t shut us out” 

Damian turned to look outside of the window saying nothing. 

Dick put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed “when you’re ready. We’re all here. Now that Alfie isn’t here anymore we need to look after each other. Let us help”

Damian bit his lower lip. 

“Alright…” he acquiesced, not meaning it one bit. 

Thankfully, at that moment the door opened again to admit an extremely tired and ruffled Bruce in, who came to plop right beside Tim. The two had never looked more like father and son.

“Coffeeeeee” Bruce groaned. Damian shared a knowing smile with Richard, and went to get the decaf. 

His problems weren’t…nightmares. 

Not exactly. But he’d be damed if he was going to discuss it with his family. He was stronger than that. He’ll get trough his delusion by himself. 

“What are you planning today, Damian?” His father asked. It was part of his new “involved father” policy: questioning his sons about every single detail of how they spent their days and making it sound like a police interrogatory. Well, maybe Damian was being unfair. 

Maybe. 

“Nothing much. Since SOMEONE benched me for a week. Train, study, drawing, some reading”

“Aren’t you… going out? With Jon, maybe?”

Damian winced in his cup. 

“No… Jon… he’s busy…”

Jon was going crazy. 

He had a tapestry of books opened in front of him, on every possible subject but as it had turned out, having superspeed didn’t actually mean that you could study at superspeed. Apparently his brain was as slow as humanly possible. Or maybe it was just that he was REALLY distracted. 

He missed Damian. 

A lot. 

He hadn’t seen the other boy in almost ten days, and even if he was trying so hard not to mope about it, he was still checking his phone for any possible new message every twenty seconds or so. 

Okay, maybe he was being a bit obsessive. But sue him. 

_Damian is busy_ Jon kept repeating to himself. _He told you. Batman business. A new mission. Stop being suffocating. Damian won’t thank you for it._

If his dad needed him there was nothing Jon could do. Least of all drop in Gotham uninvited and probably waking up Damian while he was resting after patrol. Even if he really wanted to. 

After the big mess in Hamilton, things had finally settled down to normal, or as normal as they get when you are Superman’s son. He still helped his father in missions, he even struck out for missions on his own or with other superheroes, and of course, with Damian. Just not as often as he’d like. Dami was busy…they were still trying to mend things in Gotham after Bane’s disruption and he was trying to mend things with his family too… Jon should respect that. 

Ten days before Damian had sent him a message telling him not to contact him for a bit cause he was going undercover. And Jon hadn’t…and now he was bored out of his mind and trying very hard to cram in his brain seven years of lost school terms.

It wasn’t working much. 

He stretched, groaning, his muscles itching for a flight. It was almost summer and the weather was gorgeous outside, calling to him…

“Where do you think you’re going, young man? I haven’t heard you turn a page ofthose books in an hour” his mother chided him from the kitchen aisle.

He turned a sheepish smile towards her, trying to look as pitiful as possible. 

“I’m really going crazy mum… I’ll be right back?”

Lois huffed, smiling. “All right. But even if you have months to prepare for your admission exams you shouldn’t waste time, you know? Have you talked with Damian by the way? Do you know what he plans to do with school?”

“Not yet…I haven’t really gone to Gotham lately…”

“He owns a phone”

“He’s undercover with his dad at the moment”

Lois narrowed her eyes at that. 

“Is he now…”

“Yeah…anyway. I swear I’m just flying out to catch a breath. What me to buy anything on the way?”

She absent-mindedly shook her head, while scrolling trough her phone.

“Have fun, kiddo. Don’t hit any plane on the way” she waved him off, busy calling someone on the phone. He was already flashing out of the window before the first ring. 

“Ehy there, super kid. Wanna tell me why you’re flying around in your pj? Even I don’t usually reach those level of lazyness. Mama forgot to iron your suit?”

If Jon had ben standing he would have jumped ten feet in the air. Instead he just flipped in a ready stance really fast, only then to find himself smiling really wide and trowing his arms around a big set of leather clad shoulders.

“Kon!!!You’re back!” 

“Yup. How’s my baby bro? Haven’t got into any apocalyptic trouble lately?”

Jon punched him in the shoulder. 

Since he’d met Kon after he had come with the bat family to rescue him, it did’t take long for Jon to love his father’s half clone to bits. Kon was the older brother he never had, and that he had always wanted. 

Kon was awesome.

“So…dad told me you’re buried deep under a pile of books. That can’t be heathy. Why not call that baby Robin of yours and ask him for help? What’t the use of having a super smart bat friend if you can’t make them do your homework?”

“He’s busy. Undercover work.”

Kon made an unconvinced face “yeah, so I’ve heard… well, he’s probably only doing that at night anyway. You can always call him during the day”

“Yeah…but he said not to…and I shouldn’t…you know”

Kon’s frown went a bit deeper “I know what?”

Jon just gestured in a vague manner “I shouldn’t… be too pushy”

“And why not”

Jon felt himself grow frustrated with Kon’s apparent inability to understand him. He should be the one to understand what he meant best, being himself the best friend of a Robin. 

“I don’t want him to get annoyed if I bother him too much!” 

Kon’s eyes widen a little “aaaaaaah…that’s what you meant” he said nodding.

“See?” Jon himself nodded, glad he got his point across “That’s why I’m giving him space to do his own thing” _And being a reasonable, responsible, considerate young adult-_

“BULLSHIT” Kon cut him off, abruptly. 

“…what?”

“bullshit. He might be Robin and the son of Batman and blah blah blah. But I’ll let you in on a secret. Something I learnt spending years and years dealing with a Robin myself” he started, dropping one arm on Jon’s shoulders and pulling him close “They like to act all high-and-mighty, clad themselves in their cool capes and domino masks like some kind of tragic hero, but they are actually helpless slobs with a big problem of emotional constipation and a brain so big that sometimes -too many times- they get lost in it. You should definitely NOT give him space, because Robins tend to overthink stuff to the point of no return”.

Jon just stared at him in disbelief.

“…what…?”

“Yeah. And also, your Robin is full of shit. Batman is probably not doing any kind of big undercover mission. I would know. Baby Robin is LYING. I’m sorry but its’a a bad habit of theirs and one you have to break him out of as soon as possible. Giving space to someone like that is counter-productive. They push you away and then they mop thinking you don’t love them”

“But-”

“I told you. Emotionally constipated. Trust me. I wish I had someone teaching me Robin one-on-one when I was your age. Now let’s go”

“But-”

“You’ll thank me later”

For once in his life Tim Drake Wayne was having a calm, beautiful day. He had even slept for 4 hours straight. He had had three cups of coffee-even if the last two had tasted strange- a plate full of pancakes that had been suspiciously too good to be made by Dick, and then he had lazed around working on a few cases and picking up a few calls by some board members at WE…a perfect Sunday morning. 

Of course something had to ruin it.

14:14 pm **from:** SuperB<3

Hey, wonder boy. Whatsup

Hey. Nothing much :) 

how are you? 

Miss you

14:16 pm **from:** SuperB<3

Miss you too babe. But I’ll fix that. 

I’m about to drop like an  👼 from the sky 

Babybro in tow 

Tim sat up abruptly, eyes wide “NOW?” He screeched to the empty air.

NOW?!!1

14:17 pm **from:** SuperB<3

yup. Gimme 30m or so. I’m trying to drag 

an uncoparetvq baby bro with mw

WHY

He gathered up all of his things in a fury, thinking with dread at his mop of hair hastily loped together in a tiny bun that he hadn’t even brushed yet and his coffee stained Pjs. He really didn’t want Kon to see him like that.

14:19 pm **from:** SuperB<3

You twll me. Brat robin is lying to Jonno. 

Telling him he’s too busy to hanwg out.

No y?

Tim tried not to cringe at all the typos Kon was sending him, probably the result of typing while flying across state and carrying a struggling half kryptonian teen along. 

Lying how?

He wrote back while running to his ensuite bathroom, turning on the water not even waiting for it to warm up and furiously scrubbing at his body. 

14:22 pm **from:** SuperB<3

Is he doing undercover work for the big gwy?

…no…he’s benched

14:23 pm **from:** SuperB<3

I KNEW IT. Well, be there in 25 ;) <3

Tim let out a big sigh. He was happy to see Kon. He really was. They hadn’t been able to have some quality time together for a few days, as Tim was still trying to figure out his new job as Bruce tech assistant, and all the innovations he was planning for the manor, and WE, and college prep and… and yet he would take anything, ANYTHING over having to deal with an obviously troubled Robin dealing with obvious romance issues. 

He had seen those two together. He knew Bruce hadn’t caught up on it yet, cause somehow, even though he had never been one, B still saw Damian as his innocent baby child, but Tim wasn’t as naive.

Maybe he should just drop this on Dick. He was the wise big brother. Heck, the brat didn’t even like him. He’d never listen to him. He could just go back to his relaxing Sunday afternoon, with Kon to boost. They could sneak in a secluded area of the gardens and cuddle under the sun, get some vitamin D for once… he sighed. 

He couldn’t do that. Out of all the Robins he was the one better equipped to help Damian deal with this. It was the hard undeniable truth. He had known since he had seen Damian fly off with Jon trough the window that it was gonna come to this. 

He covered his face with his hands and groaned loudly. 

His perfect Sunday was probably going to end up with a katana stuck up his ass. 

He just hoped Kon was getting there in time to save him. 

He found Damian through the CCTV of the Manor. 

Yeah, it was creepy that Bruce had sensors installed all around the house to able to track heat signatures, but it was also cursed useful. Especially when you have one too many teenager vigilante children specifically trained to be exceptionally stealthy and with a tendency to be as inconspicuous as possible.

He was standing crosslegged on the big plush Persian rug in the library, surrounded by old dusty books, scowling at one of them in particular. 

Tim didn’t knock. It wasn’t a luxury he could ‘t extend to his brother when he was in an evasive mood, probably ready to jump out of the nearest window.

At the sound of the door opening Damian snapped his head up, closing the book he was reading with a quickness someone would rather expect from a teenager caught reading a porn magazine by his parents.

“Dr-Timothy! What…WHY DIDN’T YOU KNOCK”

Tim raised his eyebrows, eyeing suspiciously the books scattered around.

“Wasn’t aware that knocking before entering my own house’s library was a policy we had in place, to be honest. What are you hiding?”

He furrowed his brows in confusion after catching the authors of some of the books.

The Bronte sisters, Jane Austin, Diana Gabaldon, Margaret Mitchhell, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Ludovico Ariosto… what the fuck?

“Me? Hiding? NOTHING. None of your business Drake. I’m… researching…for a case”

Tim tilted his head actually recognizing the book Damian was clutching to his chest, after having seen it in Jason’s hands many times.

“Mmmmh… Has Marianne Dashwood perpetrated some kind of crime against humanity I am not aware of?” 

“What…” Damian started, confused, only to then look down at the book, his eyes widening, and to Tim’s delight, cheeks reddening. 

“What? This? No! I wasn’t reading this…this…this is garbage. I was just tiding. Yes. This place is a mess. Alfred would not be impressed”

“Sure… but don’t call Sense and sensibility garbage in front of Jason or you might have to avoid bullets for a while”

Damian made a face lowering the book to his crossed legs, accepting his defeat.

“It is though” he said in a more somber tone “It makes no sense. None of these books make any sense! They make me want to shake all of those idiotic protagonists and tell them to rethink their priorities!” He said, getting more and more worked up.

Tim had to bite his lips to avoid laughing. Damian might be obnoxious, be he sure could be cute when he wanted to.

“Well, I can’t say I’m a fan of romance novels myself. But if you have an interest in them- and at that Damian raised his head again, ready to shout out some nasty denial -only academic of course- Tim rushed to explain, seemingly placating Damian’s fury a bit -you should ask Jason. He might not look the part but he’s a literature nerd, and a big romantic at heart”

Damian huffed “I have no use for romance. It’s just a distraction. And it makes people act like fools-” 

“ 🎶 love makes us act like we are fools…throw our life away…for one happy day  🎶 “

Tim totally blamed Kon’s recent obsession for singing old movies love songs at him at random intervals. 

Or maybe he should thank him cause for once he had actually succeeded into shutting Damian up.

“…Have you spiked you coffee with something to make up for the luck of caffeine?” Damian finally asked, eyes still wide.

“Ah! I knew there was something wrong with my coffee, you brat!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Timothy. But randomly bursting out in song is troubling, you should see a professional. I can schedule it for you, if you’d prefer” Damian spewed out in a monotone tone, while quickly and efficiently gathering up the books and putting them back in place. 

He then tried to purposely run straight for the door, but Tim was quick enough to grab him by the elbow and drag him to one of the sofa that was farthest away from any mean of escape.

“I knew I should have gone for the window…” Damian muttered. 

Tim forced him to sit and then sat down too, causally folding a leg under himself, one hand still clutching Damian’s arm.

“Damian…what’s going on? I know we aren’t close… but I’d like to change that. Please talk to me”

“TT. No, you’re right. We aren’t. And I know you don’t like me. You have no reason to, so please-” he tried to get up again.

“Damian”

“What? Did father set you up to this? Is he too coward to come talk to me himself? I’m fine!”

“Bruce did no such thing. In fact, I’m pretty sure he has no idea I’m here, trying to talk to you, and I assure you I will do my best to make sure he never finds out about anything you tell me, at least until you decide to tell him yourself”

“I have nothing to tell you”

“I just received a message from Kon”

“What you talk about with the Kryptonian clone is none of my business, Drake”

“He told me you’re not talking to Jon”

Damian’s head snapped up again “That’s none of your business! And neither it’s his!”

“Jon is his brother”

“No he isn’t! He’s the son of the clone’s DNA donor, AND HE HAS NO RIGHT TO—“

“Fine then. _I_ am _your_ brother”

Damian’s mouth shut close with an audible click, his lips still twitching like he really wanted to say something but was trying really hard not to. 

Well, that’s progress in Tim’s book. 

“Look” he sighed “I know this is hard to talk about. I know you probably would do anything but talk to me about it and I won’t force you to”

“You know nothing”

Tim turned to look at the window, the familiar old anger that used to surface any time he so far as looked at Damian rearing up its ugly head. 

Once upon a time he would have never done this, never would he have given Damian this kind of ammunition but now…

“I’m dating Kon”

Damian, who had been staring holes in his own knees, slowly raised his head to stare at Tim in confusion.

“What”

“You heard me. I’m dating Kon”

“…what do you mean”

“I’m in love with him. With Kon. We are a couple”

“You… he’s a superman clone. Are you attracted to superman? Is it because he’s powerful?”

“What…? NO! AND NO!” Tim gestured wildly with his hands trying to push away the idea of having romantic feeling for his boyfriend’s DAD of all people “He’s his own person! And why would I care that he’s powerful? I’m not talking about teaming up, Damian, I’M IN LOVE WITH HIM”

“but… he’s a guy”

For a second Tim started to fear he had highly misjudged the situation, a bitter feeling of rejection eating at his insides, but the only thing he read in Damian’s eyes was…confusion, uncertainty….hurt? Tim was starting to get a bit concerned.

“…yes” he slowly nodded “Do you have a problem with that?”

“but…” Damian seemed to be really struggling with something.

“Does father know?”

Tim winced “About Kon…? Not yet. But he knows I’m Bi. He’s okay with that”

“Bi”

“…you do know what that means, right?” 

“Of course I know what that means, Drake!”

“Ooook, don’t yell at me”

They sat there for a second, Damian looking intently at a spot on the floor, clearly thinking about something extremely hard, while Tim just waited, a million questions floating in his head, unable to ask any of them cause the other didn’t seem to be quite ready to give answers. 

“What about Brown”

“Ah. We…broke up. I will always love her but… we weren’t good for each others. We’ve both outgrown what we were when we were together. It’s complicated”

Damian hugged his knees to his chest. He looked way too tiny like that.

“Two men can’t have children”

Tim’s eyes widened at the sudden change of topic, and he refrained himself from pointing out that his own boyfriend was living proof of the contrary and that their world was a crazy, crazy one, but that was a conversation for another day “well, not naturally no. You can always adopt. And anyway I don’t think I WANT children”

“…But you’re the heir to WE”

Oh. That’s where he was going with this?

“…yes…? So are you. But that doesn’t mean…” _CHRIST._ He jumped on his knees, and grabbed Damian by his shoulders _“_ Damian, you don’t OWN you father children, you do know that, right?” Tim was finally getting part of Damian’s confusion and where it came from and he was starting to get a scary suspicion. “You’re free to live your life as you see fit, you don’t own anything to anyone…no matter what your crazy crazy mother might have told you”

“my mother has nothing to do with this!” 

“Doesn’t she…?”

At that very moment a knock on a window made them both jump. They turned in unison to see a couple of very familiar aliens hanging in mid air, one of them pristine in his leather jacket and shades, the other unflatteringly dropped on his shoulders in a fireman’s carry and wearing what looked suspiciously like a ruffled pair of Wonder Woman Pajamas.

Tim’s 25 minutes were up, apparently, and at the worst possible moment. 

“Hi, guys! Care to let us in? My baby bro is trying to laser holes in my butt and it’s starting to sting a bit”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marianne Dashwood is a character of sense and sensibility. And I can't stand her, so I have little faith Damian would. Professor Jason might say his opinion on it in a few chapters ;)  
> The song Tim sings is Elephant Love medley. Kon would totally get obsessed with Mulin Rouge and sing that song to Tim. And Tim might even begrudgingly sing it back slightly change the lyrics to fit their situation better. Cause he's a nerd.  
> I also wanted to explain why I didn't put the "internalized homophobia". Damian isn't homophobic. Neither is his mother, I think, that's not the issue here, Damian will explain it better going on, but it's more of an issue of... the reason he's been raised to believe what "romantic relationships" are for. If you can even call what his parents have "romantic"...


	11. I did it because...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes chapter 11, where Damian gets way too worked up about a kiss on the cheek. What do you expect. He probably hasn't willingly even hugged someone between the age of three to ten years old. That's got to mess you up.

Jonathan Kent was about to lose his Superboyboyscout badge of honor. 

The reason? He was about to go to jail for fratricide. 

Why did he ever think Kon was an awesome brother? HE SO WASN’T. 

If he was, Jon would not be in this god awful situation. 

Never, NEVER before had he ever felt this awkward alone in a room with Damian.Not even back in the start, when they hated each others, cause at least back then the feeling had been mutual. 

But THIS? This was terrible. 

He had spent their entire flight from Metropolis to Gotham trying to no avail to escape from Kon’s clutches. Kon couldn’t overpower him on strength alone, but add his TTK to the mix (totally unfair, by the way, why didn’t JON have that?) plus Jon’s fear of loosing his pants inhe struggle and thus having to fly back naked and he was toast. 

_Gods above_ he had dropped at Damian’s house unannounced in his WONDER WOMAN PJS.

_Kill me now. Please. Just…end my sufferance._

His pjs were rumpled, his snickers old, his hair a birds nest and he hadn’t even brushed his teeth after eating three peanut butter sandwiches with Nutella…

_OMG WHAT IF I HAVE CHOCOLATE STAINS IN THE CORNERS OF MY MOUTH._

He had to check. 

He needed a mirror now.

Maybe he could just excuse himself to the nearest bathroom, escape from a window and later call Damian to tell him that he took an accidental wrong turn in the massive manor and ended up in Antartica? 

He could. 

He totally could. 

He…

“Would you like some tea?”

Jon’s head snapped to the side so quickly a normal human would have probably strained their neck.

“YES!” _Why the fuck are you shouting at him, Kent, what the hell_ “I mean” he added clearing his voice “tea would be lovely” _especially if it means you leaving the room so that I can speed to a bathroom and clean up._

Damian stood up elegantly and turned to look at him with a small smile “would you follow me to the kitchen, then?”

_Damn._

“Of course!” 

For a second there, Jon expected to see the dear butler waiting for them with tea on the ready and danish buttermilk cookies, but of course the kitchen was empty. Jon bit his lip to keep himself from saying something stupid. There was really no need to remind someone of their grieving if they themselves didn’t, was there? So he just sat at the spotless cherry wood table, his palms cradling his face. 

He watched Damian’s back as he silently and efficiently put the pot on the stove turning on the heat and asked, without turning “Do you have a preference? We have quite the choice of blends”

“Aaah…I’m no expert…I trust your judgment? You go ahead, tea sommelier”

Damian’s profile appeared then, as he stretched to grab a tin box from a top shelve. Jon could have sworn he saw a half smile. 

_Score!_

A few minutes later he was presented with a superman cup with a small red cat infuser chilling on the border. 

It was too adorable. Jon needed to coo so badly. 

“That’s a …cat”

_“_ …Ms Kyle went on a shopping spree”

“Is she still going as ‘Ms Kyle’?”

“They haven’t been officially married yet”

“Oh. Are they going to?”

“They haven’t really told us anything in that regard”

“Ah.”

Aaaaaand there, the awkward silence was back. 

At full force. 

Jon wanted to cringe. 

Damian was…subdued. He kept stirring his tea with his own black bird infuser, his eyes hidden by his long lashes, looking down at the swirling red liquid.

_Man up, Kent. You’re being pathetic._

“I’m sorry” Jon blurted out, and Damian looked up at him in surprise “I know you’re busy. And probably tired. I shouldn’t have just dropped here like this… It’s…Kon…he… I mean, I should have fought him harder. I… I’m sorry”

_Yeah. Great speech. And you’re supposed to be the son of two reporters._

“I’m not”

“…what?”

Damian looked to the side, nervously. Which in itself looked extremely strange on him, as Jon wasn’t really used to seeing Damian exude anything not resembling absolute confidence. 

“I’m not busy”

“Ah….wait. What about-”

“I lied. I’m benched”

“Eh? ...why?”

Damian raised his brows “why did I lie, or why am I benched?”

“I mean…both?”

Damian went back to stare at his cup, grabbing it with both hands as if to find some kind of comfort in it. He seemed to struggle with something, and Jon was starting to feel a bit apprehensive. 

Was he about to be dumped even before having confessed? 

“I’m sorry” Damian said instead “father benched me cause I’ve not been sleeping well and he’s being his old overprotective self. As to why I lied… I’m very sorry Jon. I…need time to think”

“Think about…me? I mean…did I do something wrong or…”

“No. You did nothing wrong…it’s me. I’m…forget it. I’m being irrational. You shouldn’t worry about it. It’ my problem, I won’t bother you with it”

_Tell me about it. I want to help you_ is what Jon was dying to tell him…but at the same time that nasty doubt in his head kept telling him that he should leave Damian alone, give him space and…

“ARGH. SCREW THIS” Jon suddenly screamed, jumping to his feet. With super speed he righted both cups about to topple over , he planted his palms on the table and leaned over until his face was mere inches away from Damian’s “Let me help! Tell me about it! I wanna know! I WANT you to bother me. As many time as you want! Several times a day, even! Don’t be an idiot and bother me as much as you like!!!” 

Damian…just stared at him. Eyes wide, mouth agape. 

Jon had just practically screamed in his face and called him an idiot. 

_WHAT THE FUCK JONATHAN KENT._

_This is bad. abort. ABORT._

“I mean…” he corrected himself speeding back in his place, shoulder hunched “I mean… you… you’re my best friend. Right? We’re a team. I thought I made that clear enough. You said it yourself…we’re like family. Let me help”

“Family….right” Damian replied almost robotically, eyes still wide.

_Way to make it weird Jonathan Kent. Please don’t say I’m your little brother. Big brother? WHY IS MY LIFE SO WEIRD._

“Yeah. Sooooo…what’s up”

Damian stayed silent for a bit, drinking his tea. Jon copied him as an after thought, his tea thankfully still warm. And really good. Kind of fruity, sweet and slightly bitter-

“You kissed me”

Jon didn’t, in his defense, spat out his tea. But it was a near thing. He did managed to keep it in. He had to thank his kryptonian biology if somehow the treacherous liquid went down the right pipe.

“emrh…yes…? On the cheek?”

“Yes. That”

“I…did, yes? You did too. Right here” Jon reminded him, pointing to a spot right under his right eye.

“YOU REMEMBER THAT?” The other said, turning somehow redder than his Robin uniform.

“Yup” Jon replied, feeling a bit of smugness returning “So we’re kind of even, don’t you think?”

“You…I…wasn’t thinking straight. And you…weren’t supposed to…to…”

_Okay Kent, you coward. Cut the crap and be super for once._

As Damian seemed to be struggling more and more with whatever he meant to say, Jon took a deep breath and took the plunge.

“It pulled me back, you know” 

“Excuse me?”  
“Not just the kiss, but you. You, your voice, you closeness…you saved me. YOU. It wouldn’t have worked with anyone else. Only you”

“You don’t know that. In fact last time with Manchester Black it was your father and even this time, Kathy could have…”

“Nope. Only you”

“You’re being unreasonable” and there it was that blush again. Jon decided that he liked making Damian blush a lot. He felt his mouth pulling into a sideway smile he had seen on his father’s face many, many times.

“Maybe. But it’s true. You’re my hero, Damian Wayne”

Damian bounced to his feet, hastily gathering the empty cups.

“Enough of this! I thought we were having a serious conversation, but you keep making fun of me and I won’t stand for it!!” He blurted out in his most haughty tone.

Jon was up on his feet in a heartbeat and had taken the cups from him, leaning down a bit to smirk right in Damian’s face. He had no idea what he was doing, a dozen sirens were going off in his head, but it felt right. At every blush and stammer on Damian’s part he felt like a full summer sun was shining down on him, giving him strength and spurring him on. 

“yeah? So did I! I really meant it, D. I’m not making fun of you”

He realized absentmindedly that he might be floating, but he was too focused on Damian, looking straight into his eyes, to pay it any mind. They were so close. He saw again those flecks of gold hidden in the other’s eyes, his long, long lashes…

“Enough” Damian spat out, throwing a dishcloth at his face and ducking out, running for the door. 

For a second Jon remained there, floating, like a complete idiot. 

“Wait!” 

He rushed after Damian, his feet not even touching the floor, and as he exited the kitchen he smacked right into someone’s chest. Someone way too tall and broad to be Damian. 

“Easy, there, what the fuck?”

Teal eyes met his, wild black hair and a deep scowl. 

“Aren’t you the supes’ brat? What the hell? Are you stealing our cups?”

Jon frowned in confusion before realizing he was still holding the empty cups. He offered them to the man… Todd? Jay? Jason. Jason Todd. “There. Sorry. I’m in a hurry. Have you seen Damian? Nevermind”

He scanned the rest of the manor with X-ray vision and found Damian running into his room. He fled after him, gaining as much altitude as the tall ceilings would allow to avoid smacking into anyone else. 

He could swear he heard a confused “What the fuck” muttered in the distance. 

Damian flunked himself into his room and closed the door behind himself, turning the key in its lock. 

As if it could hold against a kryptonian. 

Not that he needed to. Of course. It was Jon. IT WAS JON. Jon that only a few months before had been a ten years old annoying kid, his best friend and now…NOW. 

He took a deep breath. Then another. He reverted to any training he had ever had on how to concentrate under deep stress situations. 

This wasn’t even supposed to be a stressful situation, however. He was just having tea with his best friend! This was unacceptable. It was humiliating. There he was, Damian Al Ghul Wayne, crouched behind a door, like a scared little girl running away from the monster under her bed. 

He was stronger than this. He had to get up, open the door and face his enemy. 

Except there were none. 

He couldn’t just go out there and punch Jon. 

He _could_ do it of course.

But he didn’t really _want_ to. Not particularly. 

Ok, he kind of wanted to punch that smug smirk off his face, but that wasn’t the point. 

He didn’t even know why he had run. 

He just… he had been on edge for days, he had practically never slept, and then Tim had to go and confuse him even more and then Jon had dropped literally from he sky, looking all rumpled and…and…

“Dami! Please opened up! I’m sorry! I mean, I don’t know what for, but I am!” Came Jon’s voice from behind the door. 

_Damn Kryptonians and their lack of respect for privacy._

What was Damian supposed to do now? What did he even wanted to do? He tinkered with the idea of shouting “Go away!” And flung himself on his bed for a second, but that was a bit too close to something a heroine from those damned books would do. And Damian Wayne was no Marianne Dashwood. 

No. He was a soldier. And a responsible, and dignified adult unfortunately trapped in the body of a teenager. For now. He did NOT cower under a door. 

With strength of will he made his body stand up, turn, set his feature in an emotionless expression and opened the damn door. 

Jonathan Kent was floating.

Damian frowned. That was it. He had had that irrational spike in his emotion cause he didn’t like Jon looming over him. Right. 

“Feet on the floor” he ordered dryly.

The other complied, with an idiotic small smile. 

Damian just turned and went to sit behind his desk, for no reason except the fact that it made him feel more powerful and in control. He stapled his hands together in front of his face and just stared Jon down, waiting for him to unravel his attack. 

Jon, looked around for a bit, then at Damian. Then around again. Then he sat on the bed. 

“Well?” Damian asked. He was not losing ground again. This was his home turf. He could immobilize and take Jon down in a matter of seconds if need be. 

Jon blinked. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you”

“You didn’t scare me. I was merely surprised”

“Ooookay. Soooooo…about that kiss”

Damian felt his face twitch. Thankfully his hands were covering half of it.

“I needed to prompt an emotional response in you. And I did. My plan worked perfectly”

“Ah. Right”

“Well, then. As you see, there’s nothing else to discuss. Now, if you’d excuse me, I have to go train and-” he started to say business like, walking to the door in quick stride with every intention to flung it open and send Jon on his merry way when…

“I did not need to prompt an emotional response out of you on the ferry wheel, though. I mean, it’s a bonus if I did, since it’s not an easy feat, but… I did it just cause I wanted to” Jon said.

And just like that he completely ruined the careful mask of control he had manage to put in place. He felt the blood rushing to his face again. He needed to train this reaction out of himself. Starting today. He was- 

“Damian. Are you gonna run again?”

“No” he chocked out, hand still hovering over the door handle. 

“Oh, ok, good. Cause I already smashed into one of your bothers and I really don’t want to repeat that”

“Alright”

Jon smiled that damned smile of his that made Damian feel like he had to go and run ten laps around the manor grounds and patted a spot on the bed near his hips. 

“Can we please talk without some kind of furniture between us you can fling at me in case you want to implement your escape?” 

“I did not-”

“Please”

Damian joined him on the bed, arms crossed. 

Jon smiled again in gratitude, turning towards him with crossed legs.

He gave a big sight “Look. If it bothered you this much” 

“It didn’t bothered me, Kent”

“You look pretty bothered to me” Jon pointed out, with a bit of resentment “but I get it, I… I’m not going to force myself on you, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Dami. Just say the word and I swear I won’t push it again”

“I just don’t understand why”

“Why I did it?”

“Yes. And that’s what…’bothers me’. I don’t like not having all the datas at hand”

Before Jon could answer, he continued talking, feeling for some reason like he was unloading a really heavy cargo he had been carrying for a long long time. 

“I know it’s a gesture of affection. I’ve been in this wretched culture for long enough and while I didn’t get it at first I have been subjected to Richard’s hugs more than I’d liked and father’s too and I got used to it, I even…initiated some of them, and while I’ve never felt the need to put my mouth on anyone of my brothers I’ve seen them brotherly kissing someone on the cheek and I know it’s not a big deal and that’s probably all you meant but that’s also not what I meant, I mean, you are family to me but you’re not my brother. So what I’d like to know is if what you did can be reassumed as some kind of show of affection and where we stands in regard of our mutual partnership”

Again Jon tried to open his mouth, but Damian just continued talking,without pause, knowing that if he were to stop he’d never spit it out. 

“What I mean is that if you meant it as a gesture of brotherly affection that’s fine but as so many have hinted at something…else, and if any of my action when I imposed myself on you made you feel like you had to…reciprocate, then I want you to rest assured that my behavior was dictated by emotional distress and that in no way meant you had to act upon it. It was my mistake. My weakness. You are the last of you species and therefore should be free to-”

At this Jon’s eyes bugged out and he put his hands palms out in front of him “woa, woa, stop right there! What has this got to do with me being the last of my species, all of a sudden?”

“You ARE the son of the last male kryptonian of the house of-”

“YES” Jon stopped him again, blushing for some reason “but what on earth-and why—-and also——“ he let out a strangled noise, ruffling his own hair into a state of no return, coming again too close for Damian’s comfort, much as Tim and done before they had been interrupted, but without grabbing him, which Damian appreciated quite a lot.

“Dami, I did not kiss you out of some kind of duty cause I thought that…I don’t know, you _needed_ me to, or something. And I didn’t mind the fact that you sought me out when you were ‘distressed’ about losing someone you cared about, I was happy you did! You should not be alone when you’re sad or hurt, I WANT you to come look for me! Or…someone else you trust, though I’d very like for it to be me” he paused for a second, giving Damian the chance to counterattack if he wanted to but… he didn’t know what to say.

“I kissed you because…” at this Jon did touch him, gently untangling his hand from the sheets it was clutching to and lacing their fingers together “because I like you. A lot. and…you don’t have to like me back. You don’t have to do anything! We both don’t have to do anything! But I do. I like you. I like everything about you! And no - he added, with a shy smile - I did not kiss you because you are like a brother to me. In case I need to make it clear”

Damian really was speechless. His brain had registered the words and acquired their meaning but somehow he could bring himself to compute them. He felt a lightness creeping up on him, something warm and soft growing up inside his stomach like Alfred’s hot chocolate after a night on patrol under Gotham’s rain. But he couldn’t let himself …and old guilt, a bitter voice, yeas of being told he _had to-_

But…I’m male”

The only change of emotion Jon let out was a light twitch of his hand.

“yeah, that doesn’t matter to me. I like you”

“but…your father…he…won’t he…”

Jon sat on the balls of his feet and reached out to grab his other hand in his “My father didn’t had me so I could…I don’t know” he shook his head “continue the family blood line or something. I…didn’t really talk with him yet…but I know he loves me. He had me so that I could grow up and be happy. With someone I love if I chose to. And I like you, Damian Wayne”

“I…don’t know what to say”

Jon smiled wider “Nothing. You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. And now I think I really want to go beat your ass at that new video game you mentioned beating all of your brothers at. The one with the killer dolphins trying to rid the world of mankind”

As the sun started to go down and the air got more chilly, a much more rumpled up Tim Drake sauntered back into the manor, Kon lazily floating behind him like a faithful puppy.

“Well, what do you think? Have the two fetuses kissed and made up?”

“I don’t really think that’s were they’re at, yet, Kon”

“Yeah, cause your gremlin of a bother is a robot”

“Hey! Only I get to call the gremlin a gremlin. And…he’s not. He’s just… still very young and already loaded with a lot of baggage to deal with. Plus it’s not like he’s had many stellar examples of romantic relationships until now”

“I take offense to that. I’m an exceptional boyfriend”

“I did say ‘until now’ didn’t I?” Tim quipped, dragging Kon down by the lapels of his jacket and pecking him on the nose. Kon tried to dove down to get more, but Tim stopped him with a hand on his mouth “Not in the hallway. There’s cameras everywhere”

“I don’t care”

“But I do. I don’t particularly fancy making out in front of my father”

“I mean, we could…”

Tim laughed. “Nope. Just find them, lover boy. Lois is probably about to set your father on Jon’s scent by now”

When they finally found them, Tim had to stop himself from cooing.

Kon had no such qualms. 

“Awwwww. Look at how cute they are. Makes you want to take a picture for blackmail material”

“Be my guest. But don’t come crying to me when Damian screams bloody murder at you and shoves kryptonite up your-”

“Ok, fine. Keep you demonic little brother away from anything green and shiny. So. Should I call Lois?” 

“Yeah…do that”

They left the room, turning off the tv stuck and the _‘game over, try again?’_ Screen, plunging in darkness the two sleeping forms, huddled together under a pile of blankets. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeey! So. i wrote this all in one go! Took me two months to write action scenes, but domestic scenes practically write themselves ^^''  
> i wanted to draw something but then I finished the chapter and I just wanted to post, so next time.  
> Yesterday was my birthday!!! Best gift you could give me is to leave a comment telling me what you think ;) ? 💜


	12. Romance is dead. You just killed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter, in which Damian's patience with one of his siblings is put through a hard test and some *serious* literary discussion takes place.  
> Ok, two disclaimers:   
> 1) no book was armed in the making of this chapter  
> 2) Damian's opinions of literature character are not -entirely- shared, boy's got issues  
> 3) this chapter is really silly and I apologize for nothing

Damian wanted to stay asleep a bit longer. It was an urge he hadn’t felt since he was a very small child, it had been trained out of him, and that was why he concentrated very hard to make his body wake up. It had been going on ever since Jon came back, and it had only gotten worse. It wasn’t real. His dreams, that nice feeling of warmth and softness, those laughing blue eyes, that red mouth…

His father had benched him because he thought Damian had been plagued by nightmares. Damian, however, had been dealing with nightmares ever since he could remember. He was used to them. He had taught himself to navigate his dreamscape to know when a terrible scene in front of him wasn’t real, to banish it away,to not being controlled by it. 

What he didn’t now how to deal with were the dreams he didn’t want to wake up from. He had had a taste of it and now he was turning weak and pliant, his dreams weren’t real, they couldn’t be real, Jon, he wouldn’t…

_“I like you, I like everything about you!”_

With a jolt Damian’s eyes flew opened, his heart going 100 miles per hours. That dreadful sensation, the feeling of plunging into nothing that makes you jolt in the bed. Waking up to wonder if that last wonderful memory you are recalling is something your mind made up during sleep or reality, the crushing disappointment when you realize it isn’t true, or the incredible elation once your foggy thought clear enough to remind you, that yes, it had indeed happened. 

He used to wake up to it every morning the first days at the manor, when he couldn’t believe hehad finally met the father he had wanted to see for years, and then again after that father died and came back. 

Now he found himself in a similar state of agitation, and taking silent deep breaths he willed his heart to go back to its usual rate. 

He focused on the day before, letting his memory tell him that yes, Jon and indeed said those words, and so much more. And if he extended his awareness to his surroundings he could feel, right underneath his cheek, another heartbeat, strong and steady. 

Jon’s. 

Jon whose breath was itching, Jon who was probably awake by now and about to- “Are you having a heart attack or something? Should I be concerned?”

“The fact that you keep track of my internal organs is creepy, Kent”

“Are YOU calling ME creepy, Wayne?”

Damian raised his head from his comfortable position on Jon’s chest to glare at him. But as soon as he did, he stopped, again realizing the weirdness of the situation. Jon was right there. In his bed. With him. _Someone_ , was in _bed_ with _him_. In his room. His sanctuary. Damian was usually extremely annoyed if even his father did as much as enter without knocking, or someone touched anything of his, but Jon kept defying all of Damian’s carefully set rules and Damian just…let him. 

Apparently rules didn’t apply to Jonathan Kent. 

Jon smiled at him, that big smile that reached his eyes, black hair nest spilling on the pillow, mussed beyond repair. 

“Good morning. Slept well?”

“I…did, actually”

Better than he had in months. 

“Same”

They kept looking at each other for a while, Damian frowning, Jon with his dopey sleepy smile. 

Then Damian’s head dropped back down on Jon’s chest.

It was easier to accept the situation like this. 

“This…is… disconcerting” he said, finally. 

“In bad way…?”

“…no”

Jon’s voice echoed in a strange way listening to it with an ear pressed against his body, each word accompanied by a steady, thump, thump, thump, his own body being lifted slightly up and down by the simple act of Jon’s breathing. It was relaxing, in way he had never experienced with someone who wasn’t one of his pet. And even then his pet didn’t usually talk back, or petted his—-“What are you doing?” 

“Petting your hair?”

“I’m not a dog”

“No…you’re more of a cat”

“Never say that in front of Selina”

“Doesn’t see already call you kitten? This is why”

“Okay, this is enough!” He huffed, reluctantly but resolutely lifting himself up and away from Jon, who instantly protested. 

“No, please! I was joking!” He lamented, grabbing Damian by his upper arms in a grip of steel.

“Let me go!”

“Noooooo”

“I want to get up!” 

“And I don’t!”

“That’s your problem!”

“Pleeeease!!! You’re warm!!!” 

“I swear to god, Kent!”

Jon started laughing as Damian actually started to attack him in earnest. Fists, promptly blocked, knees, twisted sheets and annoyed growls who turned into a yelp as Jon managed to flip their positions and pin Damian down, with a smirk.

“See? I win. You’ll have to keep lazying around for a while longer, dear Robin”

Damian, that for Jon’s delight was turning red again, opened his mouth to reply when a sound made both of them blanch in utter terror. 

The door to Damian’s room opened.

Bruce Wayne was having a pleasantmorning. He really was. 

It was a Monday, which meant, now that Tim was focusing more on his studies and helping himwith the mission as well, that he had to resume all of his previous responsibilities at Wayne enterprise. He didn’t mind, he was happy to give his son some of time back to figure out his life. Selina had also finally come back from her trip and they had spent a pleasant lazy morning indeed… Dick was back with them, even Jason had come to stay at the manor for a time, since, as he had put it, he had need of their library, and Damian…well. Damian worried him a bit, but he had every intention to do good by his son, for once, talk to him and find out what was bothering him so much. He would make Alfred proud. 

With this resolution he went down in the kitchen with the idea of getting breakfast started -one of their new rules, now that Alfred was gone, was that every member currently present in the manor HAD to take their meals together - when an inhuman screech made every hair on his neck stand up, and his fighting instinct kick in at full force. 

“WHY DOESN’T ANYONE ONE IN THIS DAMNED HOUSE KNOW HOW TO KNOCK?! I’LL KILL YOU!!!!” 

Bruce grimaced. Damian threatening to kill someone wasn’t that unusual, even if lately it had become a rearer occurrence, but it was also something he didn’t really wanted to be dealing with in such a fine morning.

He sighed, and turned toward the commotion. 

He didn’t even make it to the stairs before he ran straight into his second oldest son.

“Jay?” He asked, surprised and a little worried “Is everything alright, lad?”

Jason looked at him with a startled expression for a second, and then plastered on the biggest, fakest smile he had seen on his face since hehad been fourteen and still wearing scaley shorts. 

“Hi, DAD. Were you making breakfast? Let’s go make breakfast! I’ll help!” 

_Suspicious. Too suspicious. Way too suspicious._ His bat-dad senses were screaming inside his head.

“Why was Damian screaming?”

“Oh, you know. I hear a noise, went to check, entered the wrong room. You know how he is about privacy and people not touching his stuff, ahahahah” 

_SUSPICIOUS._

“A bit of an over reaction, don’t you think? Even for him! Maybe I should go check…”

“NO!”

Jason grabbed him by the elbow, then realized what he was doing and instead slung that arm on his shoulder, stirring him toward the kitchen. 

“He’s fine. He’s great! He just got pissed cause… yeah, he was just being his old charming self. You know how much he loves me! Let’s go make grab for the troupes!” 

And there they went. 

Last time he heard Jason rumbling like this… it was a long, long time ago. Bruce was going to have to investigate. 

“Should I just… you know…leave, or something?” Jon asked him for the hundredth time as they both stood in front of the kitchen door, like two condemned about to meet the axe. 

“No” Damian reassured him once again “I’m done running away. We should face the consequences head on. And if we survive it, I’ll have Todd’s head on a platter by the end of the day. I’m been meaning to rid the world of him for sometime now” 

“Maybe something a bit less drastic…?”

“He’s a pest and as such he should be threaded accordingly”

“Who’s a pest? I hope you’re not talking about me again, numbnut, I thought we had bonded yesterday. I’m hurt!”

Damian and Jon turned to see Tim standing patronizingly over them. Well. Over Damian, as Jon was considerably taller than him. 

“i was talking about Todd”  
“Oh. Go ahead then. Soooo are two going to enter or are you just going to awkwardly stand blocking the route to coffee and food for everybody else? I know today it’s B’s turn to cook but even he can manage toast and scrambled eggs”

Damian sighed, grabbed Jon by his ridiculous pj sweater and opened the door to meet his fate. 

Head on, like a Wayne.

Bruce Wayne wearing a pink apron saying “batdaddy is cooking today” was a sight Jon wasn’t going to forget easily. He stared at it for some time, mouth agape, as he sat by Damian’s side and was presented with the same superman cup form the day before full of a steaming macchiato. He wished he could snap a picture, his father would pay good money for it. 

Mr Wayne, on the contrary, went oncooking like nothing was out of the ordinary, and wore his apron like he would an Armani suit. 

“I didn’t know you were here, Jon! Everything alright at home? Your dad should come back from that out of space mission soon. I got a report this morning”

“Aaaah…right. Thanks…”

He turned to look at Damian, who had furrowed eyebrows, and then they both turned to look at Jason Todd, which was standing in front of Mr Wayne’s back, furiously shaking his head back and forth and mimicking a X sign in front of his chest. 

“Jason…?” My Wayne asked, and Jason’s eyes went wide and he spun on his heels to face his father. 

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

“Communicating with aliens!”

Bruce Wayne blinked. Looked at Jon, which just looked back, then at Tim, who shrugged.

“I mean, he isn’t lying”

Mr Wayne narrowed his eyes alternately focusing on each of his sons and Jon, until the moment was broken by Duke Thomas, strolling into the room stretching.

He took a look at the scene and grimaced “is this a bad moment? Cause I can totally go back to sleep and act like I was never there and leave you to your morning blood bath”

“There’s going to be no blood bath, not today. Sit Thomas” the ‘batdaddy’ ordered. 

All in all they managed to survive the breakfast pretty well. 

They went to walk on the lawn, both Alfred the cat and Titus had followed them, and while the majestic feline was sitting on the steps leading to the house, sun bathing, the over zealous dog was delightedly running around the ball Jon kept throwing just close enough not to get outside of the walls surrounding the manor and brain an unsuspecting pedestrian.

“So…that apron was a statement”

“Please, let’s not mention it ever again”

“I think it’s nice”

“That my father is wearing that thing?”

“Naaah…I mean it’s pretty amazing. But no. I mean… he’s trying” Jon said with a smile “That’s nice”

“…that he is…you going, then?” Damian asked, hating how the idea of seeing Jon fly away made his stomach churn uncomfortably. That was stupid. He was perfectly capable of existing away from Jonathan Kent. It must have been father’s breakfast. Right. Those eggs tasted funny. 

“yeah… I need to “ he grimaced “I also need to change. I’ve been wearing this thing for way longer than it is allowed”

Damian twitched his nose “Yes, please do bathe”

“Hey!!! I haven’t heard you complaining tonight! You were down right cuddly!”

Damian turned to the side, glad to see Titus bounding excitedly towards them, spit covered ball proudly presented. He walked up to him, petted him on the head and retrieved the slime ball.

Chewing on the inside of his cheek he debated if he should or shouldn’t do what he actually really wanted to do but then he shook his head and stood up, turning to face Jon. 

Damian Wayne was no coward. 

He resolutely walked up to Jon, went on his tip toes and pressed a firm, dry kiss on Jon’s cheekbone, smack under his right eye.

“Go take a shower, Kent. And do call me once you’re done”

Then he turned tail, threw the ball toward the open garden, and together with a very happy Titus run after it, leaving a completely befuddled Jonathan Kent staring after them, already ten feet off the ground. 

Damian spent the rest of the afternoon running after his never tiring dog, occasionally rolling on the ground waving a torn grass strand in the air for Alfred to catch, like some kind of demented child. He didn’t really care though, he felt quite lighter than he had since long before the dear butler’s death. 

He felt…happy. 

Of course that couldn’t last long. 

Because that’s just how unfair Damian’s life was.

As he went back inside, drenched in sweat and thinking of nothing else but taking a refreshing shower and then maybe play some violin, a foreboding shadow fell over him. He looked up, to find someone waiting for him at the banister, arms crossed and a smirk pulling his mouth tight from ear to ear, showing up rows of white perfectly straight teeth.

“Well, ‘little brother’” Jason called mockingly “we need to talk”.

“I should have known you complacency would come with a cost, Todd. What do you want?” Damian spat out bitterly, once they were alone in that same library Tim and found him the day before.

“No, actually, you know what? I owe you nothing. Jon and I did nothing wrong. I don’t even know why you made such a big deal of it”

“You’re the one that screamed bloody murder at me! Plus, I might not give a damn about what you and superbrat get up to, twerp, but you have no idea how worse you life would have become if instead of me, _Bruce_ would have walked in at that very moment. You owe me BIG TIME”

“WE WERE DOIGN NOTHING WRONG. Also, I’ve been dealing with father’s anger for four years now, I think I can survive”

“Anger? Oh, no. No, no, no. That’s not it. If Bruce would have walked in on you getting frisky with superman’s son under his very nose-”

“WE WERE NOT—-”

“Let me finish, baby demon, no matter WHAT you were doing, that’s what it LOOKED LIKE, and Bruce would have FLIPPED, and then no degree of intervention would have saved you, not even Dick, from what would inexorably come”

An ugly doubt started to make their presence known at such brutal denials. After living with his father so long and especially after talking with Tim, he had come to expected that faced with the fact that his son could love another man Bruce Wayne would accept it, support it even, but now… would father really be that opposed to his possible relationship with Jon? Could he extend such complacency to Tim, and only to Tim, since he didn’t carry his blood, while Damian actually had to perpetuate the family legacy as he thought was the case?

“Would…would father be that opposed to my harboring feelings toward Jon…?” He forced himself to ask. He had to know. Maybe Jason, that unlike Tim had to face Father wrath more than once, would be more honest with him. 

“What? NO! Why would he be? That’s not what I’m talking about! IT’S WAY WORSE”

Damian was a bit taken aback by the easy dismal of one of his bigger fear, and thus was unable to stop Jason from continuing his rumbling.

“You don’t understand! My conscience couldn’t possibly let you face something like that before it’s time! I mean, there’s no saving you, let’s be clear, sooner or later, probably on your next birthday, Bruce is gonna do it anyway, but I felt it was my duty to spare you for as long as possible!”

Damian felt his patience running thin “What on Earth are you talking about, Todd?”

“THE BATDAD-TALK”

Damian hesitated, unsure he had heard it correctly.

“The what…?”

“The batdad-talk! The trauma every robin shares!” He answered agitatedly shaking Damian by the shoulders, a manic expression on his face “I can still remember it…” he started to whisper, looking away in the distance, eyes fogging over “I still have nightmares about it…I’m sure I even dreamt about it in my casket, 6 feet under! Once you go trough it you will never be the same!” 

During the whole tirade Damian had back tracked, Jason following him, until his back had hit a window sill. He distantly wondered if he should scream for help, if Jason had finally gone mad again, or if he had simply reached the point of a nervous break down and he should just be merciful and put him to sleep with a well aimed knee to the solar plexus. 

“If it’s just a talk with father that awaits me, I’m sure I can survive that too, whatever might the content be” he answered while trying to detached Jason’s hands from his shoulders, one by one. You have to talk calmly in the face of madness. 

“What can this ‘talk’ even be about that is so terrible? He has already talked my ears off about any kind of evil in this and many other universes” he said, with an annoyed expression.

Jason leaned down so that they were face to face.

“So you wouldn’t mind having a in detailed description of sexual intercourse in all of its aspects by your father batman truly, complete with very vivid pictures of any kind of disease you might get if you don’t use the right protection? You’d be fine with that?”

Damian’s expression of annoyance melted into one of horror.

“What?!”

“Yes. He has a power point presentation that he adjourns constantly. And once he learns that you have a crush on a kryptonian he’s going to hammer into you how important he thinks it is that you use lots of fingers and lots of lu-”

“AAAARRGH. STOP. NO. NOT ANOTHER WORD!!! I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU ALL!” Damian started to scream, fighting with every once of his will the childish need to push his palms against his ears and started to go LALALALALA to cover up any other obscenity coming out of Todd’s mouth. 

“He wouldn’t!”

“Oh, he WOULD. Trust me. I’d know. Because of my peculiar backgrounds he gave me the in depth crush course”

“I don’t come from the streets!” 

“Nah, you’re just the son of the woman who spiked his drink in order to have YOU”

“I’m not going to spike Jon’s drink!” 

“Yeah, one would hope so, but what about wearing a-”

“AAAAARGH!!! SHUT UUUUP!”

Jason was laughing. The bastard was LAUGHING. Damian jumped away from him and spin kicked him in the face, but Jason was quick enough to dodge, now openly hollering. 

“You’re making fun of me!” 

“Oh, no! I mean, yes, I am, but I’m not lying. HE WILL GIVE YOU THE TALK. YOU’RE DOOMED. He’ll probably add a kryptonite chastity belt to your uniform too”

“A cha- we’re not like that! We’re——aaaargh, stand still, I’m killing you!!” 

“Sorry, already been there, done that! I’m not keen on doing it again. Also, I still saved you ass, why are you-HEY! Watch it!” 

The fight went on for long enough, books flying everywhere, which only served to fuel Jason’s counter attacks, until the door opened right for everyone no the other side to see Damian in the middle of a flying kick and Jason ready with a chairraised above his head.

“Guys…what are you doing…?” Dick asked, with the exasperated tone of a mum that just caught one of his children trying to stuff their brother in the washing machine. Again. 

Both Damian and Jason froze, Damian gracefully landing on the floor, fists still propped up.

“I swear to god, if either of you says ‘he started it’ I’m going ballistic”

“He-“ Damian tried to say, but closed his mouth with a click only to then mutter “ he deserved it” 

Dick raised an eyebrow. 

“You are not leaving this room until you’ve put everything back in order”

“I’m 23, you can’t boss my around!!”

Dick turned slowly to smile sweetly at Jason, his head tilted “yes. Yes, I can. You started it”

“I DIDN’T. YOU HAVE NO PROOF”

Dick was completely unimpressed. 

He looked at his phone for a moment and then said “you have time until dinner. If you aren’t done by then I’m telling Babs”

“YOU WOULDN’T”

“Don’t test me” he threatened, closing the door behind himself as he left. 

“I hate you” Damian felt the need to point out to Jason. 

“Are you seriously going to alphabetize them?”

“I thought you were one for inane details, brat”

“IN A FIGHT. Why should I waste my time doing this?” Damian complained while dusting the hundredth book to then pass it to Jason. 

Jason grabbed it and put with the others of the right author, time frame and literary movement.

“I’ve been meaning to do this for years. Ever since I died it seems like no one bothered to put those books back in their rightful place!! I used to have them all catalogued so precisely…” he moaned mournfully, looking around at the mess. 

“Yeah, Timothy mentioned that you had an interest in literature. I would have never guessed”

“Oh, so now he’s Timothy? Have the two of you bonded behind my back? Awwwww”

“WE DID NO SUCH THING. We have, however, moved behind our childish will to kill each others. I think”

“Wow. Color me impressed”

“TT”

They worked in silence for a while, until Jason was almost hit in the face by a familiar leather bound book. 

“Hey, watch it! It’s one of my favorites and a first edition too! You’ve got to stop throwing books at me, you uncultured little shit!” 

“Me? Uncultured? I’ve read plenty of astounding books, Todd, words written by masters and scholars and philosopher, but THAT!” He accused pointing a finger at the book Jason was craddling protectively in his hands “That is garbage for foolish girls!” 

“EXCUSE ME? ARE YOU OFFENDING JANE AUSTIN TO MY FACE?” 

“YES!”

“that’s it, you’re going down”

“Bring it on, Let there be no interruption this time!” Damian spouted back, getting back into position, duster brandished as a makeshift weapon. For a second Jason debated with the idea of starting to fight the little monster all over again, and this time without holding back. But that was a pleasure for another day. He had a more important mission ahead of him. 

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant. Not that I ever mind wiping the floor with you, but no. That would be rewarding for you. You are going to sit, and we are going to have a long talk about why Jane Austin deserves your respect!”

Damian sighed. “Seriously? This is tiring, Todd. I know she’s a great novelist, lower your hackles, I KNOW, ok? I have a deep understanding and appreciation for British literature”

Jason deflated a bit “As you should”

“However…”

“What? However what?!”

“Her protagonists make me want to grab them by the shoulders and slap some sense into them”

“That’s…violent. You can’t just go do that to an english lady from the 18th hundred, she’d kill over in shock”

“See??? WEAK. Also, all they seem to care about is getting married and love and romance, and brooding men walking under the rain across the English countryside!” 

“Wow. Romance is dead. You just killed it”

“What? It’s true! It’s all a ‘Oh, my god, mr Darcy!’ Or ‘Oh my god, mr Wentworth!’, or “Oh my god, mr Willoughby, with your artistic sensibilities and ALL THOSE ABSURDITIES! oh, and that’s right! Marianne Dashwood? She’s the worst! I’ve never hated a character more in my entire life, how her sister managed not to gut her is BEYOND ME!” Damian concluded, a bit short of breath, red in the face. 

Jason was a bit concerned. “Ooook…clearly the issue goes way deeper here. Is there something you’d like to tell me? Should I call Dick?”

“WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO DO THAT, TODD, WE’RE HAVING A LITERATURE DISCUSSION”

Jason started to backtrack slowly “Yeah…emrh… soooo let’s start from Marianne Dashwood, since you seem to - want to kill her, Jason wanted to say, but stopped himself- _dislike_ here so much”

“I don’t really care for her, why would you think I give a damn about such a little, selfish, idiotic-”

“Ok, FINE, I get it. Anyway. She is a representation of the sensibilities of young and brash people, a figure of innocence and naïveté, a look on the world not tarnished by the tediousness of reality and the hypocrisy of society! She later see all of her hopes and dream crushed and burned and learns to look beyond appearances and to find love and accept it from unsuspected places! She is the character that most of all learns and grows in the story!”

“She is an idiot and a fool. And yet again all she does is move from one man to the other. Still all she cares about is love. A fool. And I swear to god Todd, if you start to sing like Drake I’m walking out”

Sing…? Jason was not going to touch that with a ten feet pole.

“Well, now you’re being a bit single minded here. The historical period didn’t allow many more interests to the English women, and anyway the characters are metaphors and hyperboles of society and-”

“I don’t care! What’s the point of living just to latch yourself to somebody else like that! Would you do that? Spend your whole life to please someone? Those happy endings are just a mask of a sad life spent in boredom and servitude”

“Wow. Ok. WOW. Don’t really know where to start there, kid, you’ve got issues” that earned a glare from Damian “but yes, I would”

“Bullshit!”

“No, I’m serious! If I were to find someone… I would”

“Nothing lasts, it’s pointless”

“Maybe, but why not try it first? Look at Bruce and Selina! They are annoying, sure,and weird as hell, but they’re sweet”

“You’ve grown soft in your old age, Todd”

“And you” he extended a hadn’t to ruffle Damian’s quiff without mercy “are way too young to be this jaded. YOU should be a Marianne Dashwood, not some kind of Mr Woodhouse, thinking that marriage and love is a punishment and afraid of change!” 

“I’m not afraid of change!”

“Oooh, so the fact that the superbrat is suddenly seventeen, very handsome and totally has the hots for you has got nothing to do with your sudden hate for romantic heroines?”

“HE DOESN’T- I DON’T——AAAARGH. Enough. Here!” He threw another book at Jason, who had to fumble quite a bit to catch it “let’s finish this. And then let’s not meet for the next few months. I’ve had my fill of you and your idiocy, Todd, I was better off when you wanted to kill us all and never bothered to show up!” 

“Aaah, to feel the love and warmth of family…” Jason muttered.

He went back to put books in the proper orders s Damian trotted about the room insingle minded focus like a really flustered, really angry demon.

_Poor Jonathan Kent_ Jason thought in sympathy _he really has his job cut out for him with this one…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone T^T they made my day! All for all your lovely comments! I get a thrill everytime I get the notif of someone commenting on my story :)   
> Sooo... I do apologize if this chapter seems rally silly. But what can you do. It's Jason's fault. Did you like the fanart? I did promise Jon in Wonder woman pjs :)   
> Next chapter... a first? Second? date. What could go wrong?


	13. Be still my beating heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna spoil anything except for the fact that two very different talks take place here. (Or maybe they don't?)

Bruce realized he had been staring at the handle of his studio’s door for almost half an hour.

That was usually the point, in the past, when Alfred would come waltzing in with a much needed cup of coffee and a word of advice to get him out of whatever conundrum was keeping his mind occupied, and Bruce could really use such advice at that moment. 

Alas, he had to do without coffee or the trusted words of his dear friend. He had to deal with this on his own, he had postponed this enough. 

This was not going to be a pleasant experience for either parties.

He picked up his phone and without stopping sent a message to his youngest son. He had to treat this as ripping a bandaid.

Hi, Damian. I’d like for you to 

come to my studio.

There’s something I’d like to 

discuss with you.

Yes, this would do. A perfect, calm, collected message that let on none of the panic he was feeling inside. 

He really wanted Alfred by his side right now. 

9:17 pm **from:** Damian

Is something wrong, 

father?

Bruce frowned. Nothing was wrong. Had Damian realized how nervous he was about this just by reading a message? He wasn’t THAT good a detective, yet. 

Nothing is wrong. 

I’d just like to talk to you.

Damian took a long time to answer, for some reason, the three dots meaning he was typing taunting him for a couple of minutes.

9:20 **From:** Damian

What did Todd tell you??

You know how he lies!

Ok, now he was starting to get concerned. What had Jason to do with this?

Jason? He told me nothing.

This has nothing to do with him. 

Again the jumping three dots appeared to test his patience. Not for the first time he resented having a house so big that he couldn’t just shout for his son to get his ass out from wherever he was hiding and come talk to him like a civil normal person. 

Then again, if Alfred was there with him, reading behind his shoulders like he used to, he would make a pointed remark at how the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 

9:25 **From:** Damian

I’ll be there shortly.

When the knock finally announced his son’s arrival and he grunted his permission to enter, the door opened to reveal a Damian Wayne that looked about ready for the axe. He was wearing the particular brand of expression he had come to recognize as the one his children usually wore when they had done something wrong and had been caught. But while the others donned it with a tad of sheepishness and puppy dog eyes begging to be forgiven, Damian covered it up with a thick veil of disdain and the resignation of a good soldier ready to accept punishment with their head held high. 

What had exactly happened between Damian and Jason? He knew Jason’s behavior had been suspicious. He should have investigated further. 

“Please, sit, Damian”. 

Damian’s face twitched as he reluctantly obeyed. 

“I have no idea what happened between you and Jason-”

“Nothing happened. He lied. I did nothing wrong!” 

Bruce had to bit his lips form actually laughing. Damian would definitely get up and leave never to be seen again if he did. 

“…ok. I believe you. And anyway, as I said, this has nothing to do with Jason. It’s something that concerns you and you only, and something we should have discussed a long time ago. My postponing doing so sooner is my own fault. I’d like to apologize”

At that, for some obscure reason, Damian’s month twisted in a grimace, like someone chewing on a lemon, and his face turned a deep shade of crimson.

Did he need to actually have a talk with Jason after all? He decided to ignore the signs of his son’s discomfort and push forward. 

“I know a lot of things have changed in the past months for you, and that it’s hard to adjust, but I let you to your own devises for too long, and that was cowardly of me. A father should be there for their son when they need guidance and-”

“Father, please!” Damian suddenly interrupted him “I know how to- I know how to TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. Ok? I… I KNOW. I’ve read plenty of books’ and articles, and I swear that when I’ll need help, IF I’ll need help, I’ll talk to someone about it, please, can we not do this?”

Bruce didn’t think he had ever seen his son this desperate. This was going to be harder than he thought.

“This is not something I can leave alone, Damian. It’s about your future. I need to make sure you make the right decision. I already made the same mistake with Tim, I’m not about to repeat it again! There’s still time for you to-”

“I’M NOT LIKE DRAKE. I’M NOT! I SWEAR! PLEASE, TRUST ME, FATHER”

“No, Damian, listen to me. I let Tim take his own decision, not out of trust- even though I do trust him- but because I was too involved in my own problems to see that he needed help! I’m not going to do the same mistake with you! You still have time before it’s too late!” 

Damian flinched back at that “Too late for what?”

“Too late before you throw away your life and your potential to run after the life of a reject, forced to live in the shadows-”

“Is this path you think awaits me, father? You think so little of mine and Tim’s choice?”

“No, of course not! But I want you to look around, value your options before you force yourself to a choice you might regret along the way!”

“Value my options??? It’s not something you can just try and then throw away, father, I’m not going to be the next Brucie, thank you very much!” 

Bruce felt his temper slip away from him, he forced himself to remain calm, this was going horribly. The Alfred in his mind was shaking his head dejectedly.

“It’s exactly cause I don’t want you to end up like me that I want you to think about what you’re doing son! I want what’s best for you!” 

“And why can’t that be Jon?!” Damian asked, jumping to his feet and toppling back his chair.

Bruce stood up as well, palms planted on his mahogany desk, fury mounting inside, clouding his reasoning enough that it took him a while to register his son’s words.

“WHAT I MEAN IS TH- wait, what?”

“What do you mean what?”

“…What did you say?” Bruce asked frowning.

“…what do you mean?” Damian frowned back, his shoulder coming up to his ears in a defensive position. 

“Whathas Jon got to do with anything?”

“What do mean what has Jon…wait. What are talking about again?”

“I told you! Damian, I’ve been telling you for almost ten minutes now!”

“…no, you actually haven’t”

“I want you to go back to school!!!”

The fury completely drowned out from Damian’s face, leaving it in a blank state of confusion.

“School”

“Yes, school. You know, that thing you’ve been avoiding for the past ten months? What did you think I was talking about??”

“I…NOTHING. I mean. School. Sure, lets’ talk about school” Damian hurried to say, picking up the fallen chair, sitting back in it with one leg across the other, like nothing had happened at all.

_Let’s talk about therapy instead_ Bruce thought. _I think we need it, both of us._

He sighed, refraining from bring that particular can of worms up, for now, since he finally seemed to have his son’s attention.

“Right. School. You haven’t been attending for the entire school year. You were supposed to graduate from middle school this year, Damian”

“I’m well beyond my pears in every subject, you know that”

“Yes. Which is why I’m not going to force you to follow the normal procedures if you don’t want to. I want to help you do what you want to do. All I ask is that you…I want you to have something beside the mission, Damian. A real Job”

“I’m ready to take my responsibilities at Wayne enterprise, father”

Bruce sighed again. 

“I know! And I’m proud of you I really am! But…isn’t there something else you want to do?Don’t you want to go to university? You brought up Jon earlier. What does he plan to do?”

“…Jon…?”

“Well, yes. I mean for him it must be even more difficult cause for the past seven years he missed school and he wasn’t as far ahead as you are… I was just wondering…you seemed to enjoy going to school with him”

“I hate school”

“You hate interacting with people, not learning. I know for sure that’s a thing you enjoy quite a lot. Maybe if you were to attend class with people a bit older than you? Skip a few years? I’m sure you wouldn’t have any problem with the entrance exams”

“I…” Damian seemed to be seriously thinking about it, if the slight frown between his thick eyebrows was any indication. And honestly, that was all Bruce could ask for.

“Look, you have time to think about it. All I ask is that you DO think about it. You have a brilliant mind Damian… I don’t want you to let it go to waste”

“Fighting for the good of-”

“I KNOW. You know I agree. Just….think about it, ok? I’ll support you, no matter your choice”

“…Alright, father….thank you”

Bruce let out a breath and smiled, letting his chin rest on his left palm. 

“You’re not going to tell me what you thought I was talking about, right?”

“I’d rather swallow my domino mask, father”

“I see. Well, you can go then, keep your secrets” 

“I will”

His son left in quite a hurry after that. 

As Bruce watched him go, the Alfred in his mind gave him an approving smile, he thought. 

Jonathan Kent was in for a load of trouble. 

After coming back home from Wayne Manor, he had found a post it stuck to his door.

On it, written in his mom’s neat writing was: “I am needed at the Planet. Be back tomorrow. Don’t you dare leave again, or I’ll ground you for a month. We need to talk”.

“Ooooh. Someone’s in trouble” said Kon, reading over his shoulders.

Jon turned on him in a fury “like it isn’t your fault! You kidnapped me!” 

“Like you didn’t enjoy every second of it!”

“You! I- I-ARGH! I’m screwed! I mean, wait! I did nothing wrong, did I?” His fury turned to pleading and then to fury again “WAIT. You’re one that called to tell her I was staying at the manor! WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?”

“eeeermh…that you had a fight with your boyfriend and had to kiss and make up?”

“WHAT?! KON!!!”

“What? It’s the truth?”

“THE HELL IT IS. OMG!!!”

His mind went back to that encounter with his mother coming out of the bathroom the second night Damian had slept in his room and… _ok. think, Jon Kent. think. You’re Superboy. You can leave. Be on the other side of the planet before she has time to even think about coming back home. You can go on the other side of the moon! RIGHT. She will never find you there!!_

“I’m leaving”

“Eh? To go where?”

“On the moon”

“…I’ve been there. It kind of sucks. Why would want to go there?”

“I don’t know!!! You don’t understand, when she comes back, I’m DEAD”

“…why?”

“BECAUSE!… I DON’T KNOW WHY OK. I JUST KNOW I AM”

“Because that makes sense!” 

“You don’t get it!” 

“I get that you’re freaking out, I just don’t know why? I mean, I’m sorry if I told her something she didn’t know yet, but it’s Lois! You have the coolest most modern mom in history, what’s is she going to do, suddenly turn into some kind of religious bigot and kick you out? Like Clark would let her”  
“OF COURSE NOT”

“Then what are you so afraid of?”

“I…I DON’T KNOW! I JUST AM”

“I mean, at the worst she’s gonna tell you to wear a condom…? Not that you really need one since you can’t get sick, but still, it’s good manners”

“WOULD YOU SHUT UP, I’M NOT EVEN READY FOR THAT”

“…for wearing a condom…?”

Jon just glared at him, trying really hard not to laser his hair off or something.

Kon snorted.

“Look, let’s just go watch tv or something. They put Wendy the werewolf stalker on Netflix”

“Wendy the what?”

“YOU NEVER WATCHED WENDY THE WEREWOLF STALKER? That’s it. We have our day planned”

Kon dragged him towards the living room, before changing his mind and half carrying him to the bathroom “yeah, on second thought,first take a shower. Your boyfriend was kind of right, you know, you stink and you really need to get out of that pj”

“I hate you. And Damian isn’t my boyfriend!”

“Yet”

If he faked sleeping on Kong’s shoulder a little when his mother checked in on them that night, he thought he couldn’t really be blamed. 

Next morning he went on a real to god jog around Metropolis central park. At 5 am. Damian would have been proud. 

He even considered calling him, since the Wayne had probably been awake for hours already, but thought better of it. The sky was tinted a mix between pink and baby blue, the only people around were office workers running to their jobs, other joggers and delivery people. It felt…nice. When he first moved to Metropolis back when he was ten, the big city had felt suffocating. He had been used to Kansas’ big open skies, the fresh air that always smelled of hay and dirt and the quiet sounds of nature. 

Now he could feel the city coming to life with his whole body and he loved every moment of it. He understood now why his father had decided to dedicate his whole life to protect this city in particular. 

He stopped at a cute little coffee shop just outside of the park, not that he really needed to, since he hadn’t even broke a sweat, but his stomach was growling furiously. And if he was being honest with himself, he was avoiding his mother. She had told him not to leave _yesterday._ She said nothing of the next day. Also he had left a post it saying he was just going for a run and some overpriced coffee. She couldn’t ground him for exercising. Right…?

The tired girl at the counter gave him his black coffee and blueberry muffin with a big smile, which he reciprocated gladly. He sat at a table outside, sipping away the steaming liquid while watching the sky turning more and more blue.

He took out his phone.

He really wanted to talk to Damian. His fear from the past week resurfaced for a second, but then he remembered Damian pecking his cheek and his quiet _“Go take a shower, Kent. And do call me once you’re done”._

Screw it.

I bet you’ve already done your entire 

exercise routine, walked the dog, fed 

the cat, cleaned the cow barn AND 

‘TT’ your tongue at someone at least 

five times already.

6:45 pm **from:** Dami

And I bet you haven’t even showered 

yet since we last met

HEY! I take offense to that. 

I showered twice and I’m currently 

Sitting fashionably at a cafe sipping 

Very bitter, grown up coffee, 

thank you very much.

6:47 pm **from:** Dami

Also ‘TT’ isn’t a verb. 

Why are you up so early

I’m a morning person! 

6:48 pm **from:** Dami

Are you?

Do I need to remind you 

That time when you first 

sleep at my house years ago?

6:51 pm **from:** Dami

No, you don’t. 

It was barely one year ago, Kent.

Jon cringed. Right. He stuffed his mouth with the muffin while cursing at himself. Of course his phone picked that time to start to ring. 

His eyes went wide and he felt the muffin construct his windpipe, his carefully constructed adult mask crumpling like a house of cards. 

He picked up while coughing and sprinkling the table in crumbs.

“Do I need to call a green lantern evac?” Came a taunting low voice from the device. 

“NO. I’m -coff- fine-coff- thank you very much”

“I can tell”

“Shut up”

“What’s the point of you answering me if you’re just going to tell me shut up?”

Jon frowned at the phone for a second. 

Damian’s voice sounded a bit muffled, lower than usual.

“Are you ok?”

“…Yes? Why shouldn’t I be?”

“You sound…muffed”

“Oh. Right, wait a second”

Shuffling on the other side.

Jon came to an abrupt realization.

“ARE YOU IN BED?”

“ TT. It’s not even 7 am, yet, why shouldn’t I be in bed?”

“Hey, You used to wake up at 4 am before going to school to train!” 

“Yeah, but I don’t go to school anymore. But yeah…I did sleep in a little today.And I really don’t have any intention of getting up for the next hour at least. I’m quite comfortable”

Jon bit his lower lip, trying hard not to imagine a sleepy Damian curled up in bed, hair all mussed up, lowered eyelids, paws hands covered by a too big sweater…

“Are you still there, Kent?”

“Yes. Yes I am”

“Good. I thought the muffin had won the battle against your lounges”

“How do you even know it was a muffin?”

“Cause that’s exactly the kind of pedestrian food you’d by with your…uh, very bitter, grown up coffee”

“Touchè”

“So. What are you doing at a cafe so early in the morning?”

_Running away from my mother._

“I went Jogging!”

Silence on the other end of the line. 

“You can fly”

“…yes? I can run pretty well too, if you must know”

“Yes, but what’s the point”

“You go jogging every day!” 

“I’m not superman’s son! You can’t even get out of shape!”

“…you don’t know that! What if do get fat, and then I can’t fly anymore? That we’d have to rename our duo to Robin and Roundboy. Though I have to admit that doesn’t sound too bad”

Damian half chuckled and half groaned, his voice sounding muffled again. Was he burrowing his face in the pillow? “You’re the worst. Why do I even put up with you” 

“Cause I’m amazing, super and handsome too?”

“Nah, it’s cause you’d be hopeless without me. Can’t let all that potential go to waste”

Jon heard a small chirping sound in the background.

“yeah, yeah I hear you mister. You want cuddles. Come here” Damian said next, his voice a bit higher and sweeter than usual. Jon felt his entire face go red.

“Excuse me…?”

“Uh? I was talking to the cat”

Right. The cat. 

_Pull yourself together Kent. You can’t be jealous of a cat._

And yet he was. So freaking much. 

“Right, ahahaha. Ermh…well. Any plans for today?”

“Not really….” A pause “Actually… I need to talk to you about something”

“Yeah…talk then! I’m all ears!”

“… no. I mean face to face. Are you free later?”

_For you always._

“…I think? I mean, sure! I can come to Gotham tonight like usual?”

“…No…I meant…this afternoon. Out of costume. But I’d still like for you to come to Gotham, if that’s alright? Last time we walked around Metropolis, so… I thought… I mean, Gotham isn’t as nice as Metropolis but…”

Jon froze. This sounded like…it sounded almost like…

“Last time…? You mean when we got the tsuntsun…?”  
“Yes. But if you can’t then-”

“NO. I’m free! I’ve got nothing to do! This afternoon is perfect!! Just tell me the place and I’ll be there!!!” 

_LIKE EVEN DARKSIDE HIMSELF COULD STOP ME._

“..are you sure? It doesn’t need to be today if-”

“Nope. I’m 100% sure. It’s a date”

Silence again. Jon crumpled the fortunately now empty paper cup in his fist to almost dust afraid he had gone a bit too far.

“A date. Yes. I’ll text you the details then. I need to go now. I’ll see this afternoon, Jon. Have a good morning”

He hung up. 

Jon stood without moving for a bit, while a big and probably creepy smile slowly overtook his face. 

He wanted to jump up high in the sky and shout, run around the world backwards to turn back time and replay that call again and again, and then speed it up so that it was afternoon already.

He decided instead to run straight back home and call Kathy. He needed help. She was going to tease him to hell and back. He didn’t care. He _needed_ to talk to her or else he’d burst. 

If he ran a bit faster than humanly possible he was quite sure that no one noticed. 

Damian threw his phone on the bedside table and then let his arm fall to cover his eyes. Letting out a breath he had been holding since the call had ended. He willed his heart to beat at a normal pace. 

“This is stupid” he muttered.

At the sound of his voice the purring cat curled on his stomach lifted its head and chirped at him. 

Damian smiled and scratched him under its chin, where he knew Alfred the cat liked it best. The purring got louder. 

“We hang out all the time. Getting worked up over this is silly”

He picked up the cat and got him under the cover with him, curling around the warm fuzz ball that squirmed a little trying to get free before giving up and settling down in the hollow formed by his bent legs and torso. 

Damian pushed his face in the smooth fur and inhaled. 

The familiar earthy scent always managed to calm him. 

It was all Jason’s fault. All of his stupid talking about talks and…and…

“This is stupid” he repeated against Alfred the cat’s nape.

“it’s not like that…we’re not…”

He scrunched his eyes shut and then took a deep breath. He kept breathing trough his nose until he was calm and collected again. 

He opened his eyes, uncurled and sat up, the cat comically picking out from under the covers.

Damian smiled at him.

“Let’s go eat, shall we?” 

“So, a date, uh? Good job, Kent. There might be hope for you, yet!”

“I mean, it’s not a date _date_. It’s just…”

“A date”

“Kathy!”

“What? He said so himself!”  
“Yeah, but it’s Damian! Also, I don’t want to put pressure on him or anything…it’s complicated”

“Yeah, but you’re with me at the moment. So let’s call it as it is. It’s a D-A-T-E. So. What are you going to wear?”

“What? What do you mean? Jeans and a t-shirt…?”

“OMG, Jon!!! Please, at least tell me you’re not going with a plaid shirt!” 

“What’s wrong with my shirts? It’s Damian! He doesn’t care wha I wear!”

“He’s your DATE. And of course he cares what you wear, he might not tell you, but he does! Maya told he’s actually pretty fastidious about the way he looks! He might make an effort and then you’d look like a slob! Do you want to look like a slob, Jonathan Kent?”

As he was starting to feel actual dread at the thought of repeating the dirty-pj-old-snickers-bird-nest-of-hair fiasco again, the sound of knocking plunged him into the pit of deepest despear. 

He had been so focused on his upcoming afternoon with Damian that he had forgotten the reason why he had been escaping his house in the first place. 

“Jon? I know you’re in there! Are you decent? I’m coming in there even if you aren’t!”

Jon turned pleadingly to his computer, grabbing the side of the screen like he would his friend’s shoulders.

“Please don’t leave!!! Don’t you dare turn the call off, Kathy Braden, I will never forgive if you do!” He whispered, his friend’s eyebrows drawing together in concern at his sudden change of behavior. 

The door opened. 

“What are you doing?” His mother asked in suspicion after finding him crouched in front of his computer.

“Talking with Kathy!!! See?” He hurried to say, pointing at the screen with the fakest of smiles.

“Hello, Mrs Kent! How are you!” 

“Oh, Kathy! It’s so good to see you? How are things at the farm?” 

Jon just sat there, legs crossed, listening to the two women exchanging pleasantries while he eyed longingly the opened door.

With the accuracy of a mind reader, his mother grabbed one of his ankles tight, her smile turning into steal as she kept talking to Kathy without even turning to look at him. 

“Well, Kathy, it has been a pleasure talking to you” she concluded after a few minutes, and Jon’s heart jumped up to his neck “but I’m afraid Jon here has been promising me a talk he keeps postponing for some reason. And I really can’t have that”

“A talk” Kathy repeated, eyeing him with pity. 

He tried to communicate with his eyes over his mother’s shoulders, begging her to save him, but she just smirked and shrugged at him, as if to say “sucks to be you, you’re on your own Kent” she just said “Well, go easy on him, Mrs Kent. He’s a sensible duckling” 

The betrayal. The shame. She was going to pay for this.

“Oh, I will, dear. Let’s catch up more later, ok?” 

And the screen went dark. 

Jon looked up from it to find his mother, still clutching his ankle, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Well? Are you going to escape again?”

“I didn’t escape!”

“You went jogging”

“It’s good for the health!”

Lois narrowed her eyes at him.

“What? Why does everyone keep nagging at me for it? 

“Who is everyone’”

“…no one”

Lois sighed.

“Look, kiddo…I don’t know why you’re so scared of talking to me, all of a sudden. It honestly kind of sting, if I can be honest. You used to tell me everything!”

Uh-oh. She was actually giving him the hurt-earnest eyes. He couldn’t resist those. They were worse than kryptonite. 

“Mom… I’m not afraid of talking to you” _But I am. I totally am_ “I just…I’m not… I mean…” there really was no way to say this without hurting her, somehow “I’m not ready to do it. I’m…not really used to it anymore”

Yeah. It was definitely hurting her. 

“Oh, Jon. This is my fault. If I hadn’t left you…”

She lowered her head, dropping like a stone in a pond on his bed, at his side. 

“No! No, mom, please! You…you couldn’t have know… please…”

He really didn’t want to talk about it. Not then. Not ever, if it could be avoided. But he couldn’t stand to see his mom looking so dejected either, so he did the only thing he could think of. He lounged at her, hiding his face in her neck, behind her silky hair, his arms now long enough to engulf her completely. He she always been this small? 

His mother hugged him back just as fiercely, her hands carding trough his long curly hair. 

“Oh, baby… it’s ok. We don’t need to talk if you don’t want to… it’s ok…”

They stayed like that for along time, until they both felt a whoosh of air and light feet pad on the carpet of Jon’s room.

“I don’t mean to intrude, but I’m feeling a bit left out here” his father said with a chuckle, before coming to hug them both.

Jon felt his father’s face push against their hair until the world tilted on its axe and with a yelp they all found themselves in an horizontal position. 

“Dad!”

“Clark!”

Superman just laughed.

“What? I wanted to be a part of the group hug!”

“Where do you even come from?”

“The window…?”

“I hope you weren’t fighting anything nasty at least. If I find that you came into the house covered in alien slime like the last time…”

His father’s red and blue uniform seemed quite clean. Not that Jon cared. He could feel both his father’s strong heartbeat and his mother’s quieter and steady one close to him, their arms all around him. He felt safe. He had everything he had missed when he was alone and scared, lost in space and time. 

He smiled at his mother, both of their cheeks resting on the house of el crest.

She smiled back and closed her eyes.

“We’ll talk later, ok? When you’re ready”

She didn’t need to explain what she was talking about to his father. He had obviously been listening. 

Jon just nodded.

“Now. About that date of yours…”

“MOM!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. maybe it' a bit of a short chapter but I had so much time writing it. The 'talks' ended up being a bit different that I had planed at the start, but I actually loved how they turned out? Don't they perfect encapsulate the very different parenting approaches between the Kents and the Waynes? Lol, poor Bruce. he has no clue. Damian and he are constantly misunderstanding each others.  
> I also wanted to thank all the people that left so many lovely messages in last chapter :') it encouraged me a lot to write this new one as soon as I could! And I know a few new people have found this story, so welcome <3 Please stick around, next chapter will be completely centered around the date!!!  
> I also have planned were I want to take the story for the next few chapters and it's gonna be fun, uhuhhuh I think I'm gonna bring in a character most people don't even remember exists, lol. Jon won't like it >:))))  
> If anyone wonders what Bruce was referring to by mentioning Tim, he was talking about the discussion they had in detective comics about the fact that Tim had refused to go to uni to continue helping Bruce. Damian thought instead he was talking about him dating Kon, ops.


	14. Promise me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, I'm sorry you had to wait so long... I haven't been feeling well, mentally.  
> And I started to have all kinds of second thoughts about what the hell I was doing with this story but here we are again. I actually like how this chapter came out a lot.  
> I hope you like it too, I did my best :)  
> Dsclaimer: I wrote this while listening to songs such as "Love is in the air" , "Stand by me" and "Don't go breaking my heart" So this MIGHT be a tad self indulging. I apologize for nothing.

Damian Wayne HATED Gotham. 

Well, no, that wasn’t true, a voice in his head protested, Gotham is Batman, after all. He loved his dad. His family. Their mission. 

But this day he was hating Gotham more than ever before.

It was pouring. The morning had been promising, cloudy, but still kind of warm, and it was May already! But no, in Gotham spring was still no where to be seen, all was gloomy and wet and _moist…_

“I hate you” he grumbled at the city at large, from his spot under the open gallery at the entrance of Gotham central station. 

It’s were he had asked for Jon to meet him. He had planned to walk around the city, under the sun, surrounded by blooming flowers… he bet it was all sunny and warm and perfect in Metropolis. But noooo he had to ask Jon to come to his hell hole of a dumpster city.

He had come early, of course. Better safe than sorry. He hadn’t been able to wait anymore, so despite their date - _OUR DATE, HOLY CRAP-_ had been for four p.m., as soon as three p.m. had rolled around he had called a Taxi and asked to be taken to his destination, deftly managing to avoid everyone on his way out. 

Brown of course, had managed to be a nuisance before he had even been on the look out. 

She had caught him while he was choosing his clothes for the day, _in his own room,_ she even claimed she had knocked, but she certainly hadn’t. He had heard nothing and he was not - as she had claimed- distracted. Damian Wayne didn’t do distracted. The annoying woman had barged into his room and demanded to know why he was standing in front of his open wardrobe “like a silly goose”. Which he hadn’t been, thank you very much, he had just opened the damned thing. 

And really, he had no idea what birds had anything to do with it. 

“Sooooo…having problems picking clothes?”

“TT. Of course not, Brown. I’m not three. I’m perfectly capable of dressing myself”

“Yeah, you’re not three, but you’re a man. And a robin to booth. You are a race famous for being fashion disasters”

“Don’t bundle me up with the rest of them! Also, you were robin too, at some point”

“Yeah, but I’m a woman. And even when forced to dress as a traffic light, I made it work!”

That was debatable, in Damian’s opinion, but he decided to be quiet, fearing that engaging her further would have just prolonged her stay. 

“I’m quite fine by my own, thank you very much. I’m merely changing to go meet Jon later today”

“Awwwwww do you two have a date?? Is this what this is? You can’t pick an outfit for your date??? Omg this is too cute for words! I should tell Dick, he would cry!” 

“YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING, BROWN OR SO HELP ME GOD”

“Ok, ok, fine! Lower your hackles, Robin. But still. A date. Is this your first?? That’s so cute, I can’t help myself! I’m squeaking inside, I’m sorry”

“It’s not! We’re not-”

And yet it was. _“it’s a date”_ Jon had said.

And yeah, maybe Damian was freaking out about what to wear. Just a little. 

Truth was, he had no idea how teenager dressed when going out. His mind was telling him to dress up and make an effort, but wouldn’t that turn heads all around Gotham? He didn’t want that. Even worse, what if some psycho attacked them, thinking he was some kind of clueless rich kid? In Gotham that was a real possibility. But what was the alternative? He didn’t want to go out in his tracksuit. Maybe he should just go with his usual all black. 

Alfred would have known. He always knew out to make any of them, even when they had had two hours of sleep and resembled chewed up zombies, look like the prince of Gotham. 

“Mmmh….this one looks nice” Stephany said, holding out a grey shirt.

“Hey! Don’t snoop into my stuff”

“Oh, shut your beak, Let me help!”

She held the shirt out towards him and then scrunched her nose and pulled it back in the rack. 

“Nah, you’d look like a kid dressing up as an accountant”

“What does that even mean”

“You know howTim looked ridiculous when he was 16 an acting like the CEO of WE?”

“I’m nothing like Drake. And he _still_ looks ridiculous, no matter what he wears”

“Well, yes, but that's because, as I said, he’s a robin and thus a fashion disaster. Though I have to admit, one with a really cute-”

“I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT, BROWN”

“Jeeez, kid, fine. You’re no fun”

She went trough few shirts until she seemed to settle on one. 

“There! This one! I like this one! Now, the pants….”

He took the Burgundy shirt, observing it closely.

It was new, perfectly ironed in a way that made Damian think Alfred must have been the last one to touch it.

For some reasons, probably desperation, he went with what she gave him without much fuss. 

Grey jeans, the burgundy shirt and black laced docs. 

He looked at himself. He looked… nice. 

“And this!” She handed him a black pinstriped jacket he had never seen before. 

“That’s not mine”

“Nope. It’s Tim’s! He bought it with me a long time ago but I don’t think he ever wore it. It’s too small for him now anyway”

“I’m not going to wear Drake’s hand-me-downs, Brown”

“Oh, come on. It’s vintage! It’s cool!”

“It’s too big for me”

“It’s just slightly oversized! You’d look cute as hell in it”

“I’m not supposed to look cute!” he hissed, feeling himself blush. 

“Just shut up and try it al least. You might like it!”

At the end he wore the cursed jacket. Just to get the woman off his back. 

It was't like it looked good on him or anything. it was just...comfortable. 

Damian sighed, looking down at his phone. 3.45 p.m.

He had really wanted to go to some out door places with Jon and the stupid weather was ruining all of his plans and-AND….

_This is stupid. I’m behaving like an idiot. I only need to talk to Jon about school, why am I even fussing about this so much?_

Suddenly he felt a surge of shame at how much he was getting worked up about something he wasn’t even supposed to care about. His brothers would probably make fun of him. Father would think him too emotional. And…his mother…

He shook his head, closing his eyes tight. Heshouldn’t be thinking of _her_. He should-

“You kind of looklike Titus scrolling water out of his ears if you shake your head like that…” a laughing voice, awfully close, told him. 

He opened his eyes to find a smiling Jon holding an umbrella just a few feet away from him. 

“Hi” he simply said, his smile growing even wider. 

“…Jon.”

“Yup. That’s me. I’m sorry, it took me a while to find a place to dry up and change after flying here. Did you wait long?”

“I…no. It’s early actually. You flew here? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked-”

“Ehy, it’s just water. It’s not like I can get sick! Don’t worry”

They stood there in awkward silence, for a bit, as Damian raked his brain on what to do next. He just looked at Jon for a second, marveling at the strange reflected light of the red umbrella that made his skin look artificially pink, like they were under a weird bubble separating them from everyone else. 

Jon tilted his head to the side “So, where shall we go?”

That shook Damian out fo his stupor.

“I…inside. I mean, Let’s get out of the rain. Maybe we should just go back to the Manor…”

“No way. You promised me Gotham. You’ve got to deliver on that. I thought that rain was part of the charm”

“Don’t be an idiot, Kent. We don’t have to run around under the rain if there is no need for it”

“I like walking under the rain. It’s romantic. Also”

He added, stepping even closer into his personal space “I get to do this”.

Before Damian could ask what he meant, Jon pulled him out from under his dry perch, pulling him against his side. Damian fit perfectly under his arm, his head just one inch above Jon’s shoulder.

“See, you forgot an umbrella. This is awfully convenient” Jon explained, a toothy grin lighting up his face.

“Lead the way, Wayne”

Damian wanted to punch him. He was going to punch him and tell he was the worst and go home and _punch things._

But all he did was just lower his head, push into Jon’s side, grab the back of his jacket and drag him into the city’s rainy streets. 

He might have been in love with Gotham, just for one afternoon. 

The coffee shop Damian took them to looked… artsy. Jon had half expected to be dragged into some five stars hotel for English afternoon tea or something equally preposterous. But the place was full of young quirky people, students, some working at their computers, one guy sketching by one of the rain splattered window. It was a soft lit hole of a place with art hanging on the wooden walls and modern designed cozy looking furniture, with art hanging on the walls and Jazz music in the background.

Jon was a bit taken aback. 

Damian seemed to take his slight pause for dislike, cause he turned to look at Jon, let out an itched breath and rushed to say “We can go some place else if you don’t want to be here, I just… I know other places, I”

Jon smiled. Seeing Damian flustered was something he wasn’t used to and it was completely adorable. 

“No, I like it! I like it a lot! I just didn’t think this was the kind of place _you_ would like, that’s all”

“TT. It’s… not bad. I used to come here sometimes…with Richard, when I first moved to Gotham. The fool would drag me all over the place to ‘show me the beauty in Gotham’” Damian smiled as they sat, with badly concealed fondness “Anyway, they make a good enough macha latte and they have a selection of pastries which are…acceptable” 

Ah, there was Damian famously well hidden sweet tooth. Jon looked amused as Damian ordered way too many sweets with the pretense of having Jon try them, together with a mocha ginseng parfait. 

After the waiter left their table Damian looked back at him and frowned. 

“What?” He asked, defensive.

“Nothing! I just… I’m happy to be here. With you”

Damian frown deepened.

“What?” Jon parroted back, grinning.

“You keep saying mushy stuff like that…”

“It’s true!”

Damian seemed to go even more rigid and defensive. To someone looking from the outside it would probably look like he would like to be anywhere else but there with Jon. 

A heavy awkward silence fell between them. 

Jon took advantage of the fact that Damian seemed to be staring quite intently at a drop sliding down the glass to observe him. He looked so cute, swimming in some kind of oversized jacket that made him look…softer. His hands barely peaked trough the sleeves. Jon really wanted to reach out and grab them.

“Was it really hard, to adapt, at first?” He asked suddenly.

Damian turned back to him, his thick eyebrows tilting toward the middle fo his forehead. 

“What do you mean?”

“When you first came to Gotham, I mean It must have been really different to what you were used to… I just…I realized I never asked. For me it was hard enough to adapt to move between Hamilton County and a busy city like Metropolis…I can’t Immagine how hard it must have been for you, having to move from a completely different culture and way of thinking”

Damian seemed to consider him for a bit, and then his pose relaxed.

“That’s one way of putting it” he smirked.

The conversation seemed to move on smoother after that. For the first time Damian actually talked about himself, opening up a bit, and once Jon got him started he just kept going. 

Jon could just sit there listening to him describing how he had cut the spook’s head and stuck a grenade in his mouth for hours. 

There was probably something wrong with him.

Probably. 

The sweets finally making their appearance only moved things forward, Damian’s eyes lighting up with childish delight. Jon even found a spoon trusted at his face when Damian insisted he tried his matcha parfait. “It’s much better than your pedestrian chocolate one. Come on. Open up!” He ordered imperiously.

It was at that moment that his super hearing caught the voices of the waitresses, from behind the counter, whispering about them.

_“oh my god, look at those two, I could die! So cute!”_

_“Do you think they’re on a date? Wait, isn’t that a Wayne?”_

_“Ssssh, lower your voice! Also why do you care if he’s a Wayne?! LOOK AT HOW CUTE THEY ARE”_

Jon forced himself not to bush. People looked at them and saw a couple. 

Them. A _cute couple._

He looked up to meet Damian’s gaze. 

“Well? Do you like it?”

Did Jon ever. 

“Mmmmh, I don’t know. I think it’s missing some chocolate”

Damian scrunched his nose “You’re such a peasant, Kent”

“Oh, come on. Here. Try mine! And tell me you don’t like it! And don’t lie. I know you like chocolate. You love sweet things!” 

“I do NOT! My tastes are refined” Damian protested, glaring at the spoon Jon presented him, full of chocolate goodness.

“What are you doing” he deadpanned.

“The same thing you just did?” Jon shrugged.

At that, Damian seemed to look behind Jon’s shoulder, probably at the nosy waitresses, blushed and recoiled back.

“Stop!” He hissed “People are staring at us!”

“But you just did it to me!” 

“That was… You can’t feed _me,_ Jon, I’m not a baby!” 

Jon considered the cons of teasing Damian when he was in such a state of agitation but he simply couldn’t help himself. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Are you?”

Damian’s eye widened slightly, his face flooding with an even brighter shade of red. Then his eyebrows came together in determination, he got as close to Jon as the table between them allowed, grabbed his wrist to bring the spoon closer and stuck the damned thing into his mouth. All the while staring Jon straight in the eyes. 

As Jon’s own face turned redder then his cape Damian settled back in his chair, smirk in place, grabbed a napkin and dabbed at his lips.

“You’re right Jon. It’s pretty good” 

Jon finished his parfait in silence after that, as Damian popped sweet after sweet into his mouth with extreme satisfaction. 

Damian found the horrified look on Jon’s face, as he described being tied upside down to the aviary of the zoo by the joker and being dumped in worms, pretty amusing. If Jon was dead set on being as mushy as inhumanly possible then Damian was going to be obnoxious. He was going to make Jon see the absurdity of his ways and how they were going to inexorably clash with what they were. He didn’t know why he was doing it, but he was. 

That same nagging voice in his head that he had finally identified as Richard’s was screaming at him “This is self-sabotage, Dami! ABORT” but he was quite stubbornly avoiding it just as he was still avoiding the original Richard. 

This was going too well. It was an illusion, it couldn’t last. Some kind of crazy psycho was probably going to drop from the sky at any moment anyway, attack them, make a mess of things and Jon would realize that Damian might not be worth it after all. Being partners? Yes. But this…this…THING Jon was trying. No. He deserved better. Some kind of pretty, kind girl with a big smile, freckles and who dreamed of being a farmer’s wife and give Jon three screaming children and a dog. 

Yes, sure, Jon had said he liked Damian, for some reason. But Damian would make him _see._

_“_ He dumped you in worms and dressed up a martial art expert as your father to make you think he had gone mad and wanted to kill you?!” Jon asked, his voice raising a few octaves.

“Oh, yes. That’s Joker for you. He then proceeded to make us all believe he had cut off our faces and served them to us on silver platters. I honestly believed it for a while too. I couldn’t feel my face” Damian continued, with some kind of sick pleasure on recalling on of the most horrible days of his family’s life like it was some kind of joke. 

It had stopped raining as soon as they exited the cafe and the sun had actually dared to come out. It made the Gotahm zoo look way more cheery than last time he had come there years before, on Joker’s trail. 

“That’s pretty much any other day for us” 

_NO-it wasn’t._ That time had really been horrifying, and had slashed a wound in his family that was yet to be completely mended, but Jon didn’t need to know that. 

“Gotham’s rogues seem to have a thing for permanently trying to maim or disfigure people, especially us, for some reason. There is that one time with Professor Pyg, also-”

Damian stopped in his tracks, looked down.

Jon had grabbed his hand, squeezed it. 

He glanced back up at Jon. 

Jon was looking back with the most serious expression, the sun shining on him making his hair look almost reddish.

“Promise me” he said “Please, Dami, promise me that if something like that were to happen again, you’ll call me”

“What. No! Kent, I’m not some kind fo damsel in distress!” 

That’s not what Jon was supposed to get out of this, what the hell! 

“I know you’re not, I know! But you don’t have to fight it all alone, I told you, I want to help!” 

“My father doesn’t go screaming for superman every time he’s in trouble, and neither will I!”

“We’re not our parents! My father considers yours his best friend, and yes, he’d like to be able to help instead of just watching his friend get hurt from the sidelines, and yet he respects your father wishes. But I— I can’t do it, Dami. I can’t. I can’t watch you get hurt. Please. Do it only in situations when you have no other choice, fine, but please!” He had grabbed Damian’s other hand as well, and Damian was painfully aware that once again, they were probably turning heads, standing like two idiots in front of the elephants display.

“Then, as I thought, this can’t work. I’m not - I won’t scream for help like some noob who can’t look after himself, Kent. I won’t. I don’t need-”

“When it was me. When I was the one in need of help, you came for me. You saved me”

“That’s different”

“How is it any different? Do you think less of me cause I needed your help? Should me and my father have dealt with it on our own, probably dying in the process?”

“OF COURSE NOT, but you- you’re invulnerable! If you need help it’s probably something world- threatening , or close. Of course you need help!” 

“Ok, so if it’s not threatening the world you wouldn’t help? You would let me die?”

“I- no. I wouldn’t. But again, if something can kill you, than it probably is world-threatening”

“Debatable. Anyway, my point still stands. If I loose you, then my world would crumble as well. I don’t want to live in a world without you, Dami”.

Dami felt his mouth hung open. He was turning red. Again. He really had to train himself out of it. This was. It was…

“You-you!!! You are the worst! How…how can you say stuff like this with a straight, face? How?” He tried to pull his hands away, but Jon wouldn’t let him, hangin on tight.

“It’s true!” 

“It’s embarrassing, that’s what it is! You are a disgrace! People are looking at us! They are looking at us and probably thinking we look like two idiots, let me go!!!” 

Jon started to laugh, letting go of one hand and pulling at the other to make him walk “Let them look! The waitresses at the cafe thought we were a really cute couple!” 

“THEY DID WHAT?” Damian screeched, coming to a dead alt and pulling with all his might to free his hand. When Jon just wouldn’t let go, Damian opted for dragging him away from the crowd, in a more secluded part of the zoo, behind a big blooming wisteria plant “Stop laughing! I-you- stop it!!!” He protested again when Jon just wouldn’t stop snickering “I’m sorry, wait, don’t hit me! I’m sorry, I’ll stop!” Jon hurried to say when Damian started to punch him in the shoulder “I’ll stop laughing, I swear!” He said, laughing. Then he took a big breath and actually stopped, tilting his head a bit.

“I’m sorry, I’m not making fun of you! I’ll stop laughing, but I’m not going anywhere, Dami. Don’t think I’m not onto you, the more horrifying tales you’re going to spin, the more you’re just gonna make me want to stick as close to you as possible. I’m not leaving. I’m never going to let you out of my sight again” he concluded, smiling. 

Damian scowled “I could sue you for stalking” 

Jon’s eyes widened “You wouldn’t” 

“I could”

“Oh my god. Immagine that. Police! My super boyfriend likes me too much, I can’t stand him and his mushiness a second longer! Gethim out of my sight!! I want a restraining order!” Jon cried out. 

Damian imagined Commissioner Gordon’s deadpan stare if Robin even were to drop in on him with such claims. He snorted a little, turning his head to hide it from Jon. When he turned back to face him, he was looking at him with such a besotted, sweet smile that Damian wanted to melt a little. 

“You really are the worst. There must something wrong with you. This can’t be normal”

“Well. I am an half alien from another dimension and you’re the son of a bio terrorist and bat shaped vigilante. We’re anything but normal” Jon teased, grabbing his hands again and pulling him closer.

Damian went willingly this time. He was tired of fighting it. 

When he first jumped off a roof as Robin, he hadn’t thought about it much. He knew what he had to do, how to do it right, and so he just went.

This time he had no idea what they were doing, and how it was going to end, but chasing the same kind of high he took a step forward, and then another, let go of Jon’s hands, spread his arms and threw them around Jon’s torso, his face pressed against his chest, taking in his warm scent he had come to know so well. 

Jon hugged him right back, his arms an unbreakable cage around him. Safe. 

He felt Jon’s cheek coming to rest against his hair, his breath ruffling the spiky strands.

“Promise me, Dami”

“…fine. But likewise. If you need help” Damian pulled back so that they were face to face again “If you need help…”

“Always” Jon grinned “I’ve had enough of fighting alone. We work way better when we are together”

Jon’s smile was contagious. Without him giving permission, Damian’s mouth stretched on his own. To hide it from Jon, he went on tip toes and kissed what had become his favorite spot, under Jon’s right eye. Then, because Damian Wayne deserved to have the last word, he lowered his aim a little and kissed him again, on the side of Jon’s mouth, just shy of his lips. 

He felt Jon’s whole body freeze, and when he glanced back at him, he found Jon’s pupils completely taking over the violet-blue of his irises.

Yes. He had won this round. Again.

“I promise” he said, and Jon… Jon groaned and hugged him again, so tight that the air rushed out of Damian’s lungs in one soft ‘Uoofh!’

They left the zoo and strolled around Gotham, the city seemly trying to put her best foot forward to make an impression. Just for one of her favorite sons. Or so it seemed to Damian, with everything gleaming and shining with the sun hitting the last drops of rain still clinging to all the leaves and perches. Jon didn’t leave his hand for a second, and Damian let him hold it. He didn’t really want to let go. There were many things he wanted to talk about, first of all the one thing he actually wanted to ask Jon, being what he planned to do with school, but somehow he didn’t feel like bringing it up yet. He let Jon take control of the conversation, ad he filled it talking about inane things, silly things, funny things. He didn’t care. He liked the sound of Jon’s voice. 

The day ended, of course, withthe two of them having to rush to put on mask and capes to stop a supermarket from getting robbed. Cause this was Gotham, and Gotham…had issues. It was laughably easy to solve too. The low lives had probably thought that hitting late in the afternoon meant they were safe from the bats, little did they knew that they were going to get Robin AND Superboy to pound them in the ground. Poor tugs. They didn't have a chance. 

When GCPD showed up on the scene to find the victims safe and the tugs zipped locked to a lamp post, Robin and Superboy were already flying over the rooftops of Gotham, the city and all its problems left behind, and only the beautiful sunset sky to greet them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jon with heart eyes *oh my god look at how cute he is, here, have a spoon full of choco, you baby bird*  
> Damian, screaming bloody vengeance *let me tell you of that time Joker almost cut of my face, cause that's the kind of conversation you're supposed to have during your first date*  
> Jon *sigh! he's so cute*  
> Damian and everyone else in all of Gotham *meh, you're hopeless. CHU <3*  
> Eeeeeeend, sorry. You thought he was going to really kiss him, but nope. Not yet. Damian is only 14. He's not going to jump Jon, lol. He's a babyyyyyyyyy!!! We're getting there, tho. I'm sorry. I was seriously with the slow burn tag. I'm sorry the fanart is just a sketchy sketch this time...I didn't want to delay the chapter further, but I also really wanted to draw the smooch.  
> Next chapter... will be the summer!!! (THEIR SUMMER, don't worry, you won't have to wait untill summer, XD) and Our two dear girls will return!  
> Damian better get ready for the roadtrip from hell....but sssshhh, don't tell him yet. He might hide and try to avoid it... like you can hide from your xray visioned bf ;)


	15. Highway to hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok soo... I lied. Or well, I wanted to write the whole trip in one chapter and have a loooong one, but then the thing was turning too massive. And you would have had to wait for another week at least so... I broke it in two. I found a good place to stop and there you have road trip chapter n.1!  
> I've already written one third of the next one so hopefully it will come in less than a week :)  
> A few disclaimers:  
> I tried to understand how driving licenses work in the usa BUT I FAILED. I THINK that a 17 years old can have an unrestricted license and carry minors on board in Kansas, BUT IF HE CAN'T I'M SORRY, SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF.  
> Again, on the same note, I researched Wilson lake, but not too in depth so if any of you went there and it's different than how I tell it, SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF. This is loosely based on the only time I went camping in the Usa, soooo my knowledge on how these things work is... creative.

“JON! STOP; YOU’RE GOING TOO FAST!!!” His father screamed, for what was probably the tenth time in twenty minutes. 

“But dad! I barely hit 10 miles per hour!!! I can see slugs going faster than us!!” 

That was a lie, of course. Not even the slugs were out at this time of the day. 

It was HOT. It was barely June, but hello, Global warming! 

It usually felt nice to him, to feel the sun so strongly on his skin, charging him up, but at that particular moment, trapped in an old pick up track, melting plastic under his hands anda squeaking seat under his but, it felt like hell. 

“You can already kill someone going at 10 miles per hour, Jon!” His father reprimanded him with his ‘ I’m superman, so you better listen to me young man’ voice. 

Jon sighed. He really should have begged his mother more to convince her to be the one to give him driving lessons. Maybe if once he went back home he would just grovel some more, cleaning the house from top to bottom and bringing her some Italian handmade gelato from Florence or something… he would do anything, ANYTHING not to have to undergo this torture again. 

“Dad… there’s no one I can kill here. NO ONE. There’s literally a tumbleweed rolling on the street in front of us at this very moment. LOOK” he pointed at the very real ball of tangled strands gracing them with its presence. They were, after all, in Kansas, 40 degrees south of everything else, 90 degrees west of nothing, straight in the middle of _nowhere._

“I will never learn if you keep stopping me every time I gain a bit of speed!” He protested. 

His father took in a big breath. 

“You’re right Jon, I’m being unfair. GO on. Turn it on again. Get on the second gear and then third and…go” he conceded, with the air of a man getting ready for death. Which was unfair and ridiculous. It wasn’t like either of them could die from a car crush. 

He did as he was told and as he shifted gears he could see in the corner of his eyes his father gripping his seat. 

The road was a bit bumpy and Jon hit more holes than he’d like to admit, probably putting the poor truck’s nonexistent shock absorbers trough hell, but he thought he did well, all things considered. 

He manage to pull the car by the old abandoned building they had started from, and he even -kind of- parallel parked the truck between two oak trees. 

“There. Perfect” He said, before he heard a small thud as the truck hit the tree on the back. “Ops. Well. It’s just a bump. See? I’m getting better, am I not? Almost ready to get my unrestricted license!!!” He said, turning enthusiastically towards his father.

Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, man of steel, was sitting ram rod straight, staring into nothing like someone seeing their whole life flashing in front of them. 

“Dad…?” 

He jumped, hitting his head on the car ceiling and leaving a dent.

“YES? I mean. Yes, well, we still need to work on a couple of things….”

“Dad!!! I’ve had my learner's permit for five months now!!! I’m ready! You know I am!!! Please!!!” 

“Jon, you have to understand-”

“That driving can kill and I need to be careful, and I should never lower my guard cause while I’m invulnerable the rest of the world is not!” YES. I KNOW. I’ve know it since I was a child and had to control my strength every time I played with the other children or grabbed anything, or… you KNOW! I know. You’ve trusted me with everything else! Why is this different?” He asked, feeling himself getting worked up.

His father turned to look at him with furrowed eyebrows, but after a tense second, his shoulders relaxed and he let out a defeated breath. He gave Jon a sheepish smile, and patted him on the knee. 

“I know Jon. And I do trust you. It’s just… I’m being unfair. I know I am…but…”

“But what?”

His father’s sheepish smile turned into a full blown one “But be kind with your old man, he’s just been a sentimental overprotective fool” he squeezed Jon’s knee “My baby is getting his driver license, allow me to be sentimental about it!” 

“DAD!” 

“Nope. You can’t protest. It’s only going to make me mushier. It runs in the family” 

Jon begrudgingly smiled back, and punched his father in the shoulder “Well then, supercheese, let’s switch and drive us back to civilization!” 

“Nah, I’m comfy”

“But… the highway…”

“I can see pretty far. I’ll spot cops if they are out there. But I doubt we’re going to see a living soul till we get to Hamilton in this heat”

“Who are you and what did you do with my father”

“Just drive, kid”

_“So…it’s done???”_

“YUP” Jon answered, presenting his laptop’s webcam with his brand new driver license, released by the state of Kansas.

_“Omg, you rock, Kent!!!”_ Kathy exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. 

“I really don’t get what all the fuss is about” Another voice commented, this time in person, right behind Jon’s shoulders. 

Jon turned to look at Damian, curled up on his bed, surrounded by his family of tsun tsun, holding the Nightwing one close to his chest.

“You can _fly_ , remember? As can you, Braden. What’s the deal about driving? I’ve been driving since I was three” 

Jon avoided commenting on how that particular age kept getting younger every time Damian brought it up. Kathy was not so kind. 

_“Yeah, sure, Wayne. You can barely reach the pedals now, I’d like to see three years old you try”_

Before the situation could escalate, Jon, jumped on his bed, laptop and all, and came to sit by Damian’s side, pulling him close with his arm. 

That Damian just went willingly and actually tucked against Jon’s side was a miracle Jon still had trouble believing. Even a month after their official first date. 

Their first month anniversary was rolling up soon and Jon idly wondered how much Damian would kill him if he were to come to him with flowers on the exact date. 

Probably a lot. 

Still, he nuzzled into Damian’s hair contentedly _cause he could._

_“It’s not about moving, ok? It’s about being able to move like normal people! Do what normal people do without having to sneak out, or hide!”_ Kathy tried to explain _“Also, now I can totally boss him around to get him to drive me around!”_

_“So…”_ yet another voice added, coming from the laptop speakers _“Does this mean operation ‘let’s get Robin on a road trip’ is a go???”_ Maya Ducard asked in glee, coming to fit in the computer screen by her girlfriend’s grinning face. 

“Yup, as long as we stay in Kansas!” 

“Then Wilson lake it is! Aaaah I need to start packing, and-”

“Wait a second!” Damian protested, with a strange delay of a few seconds, as he came to sit straight on the bed, regrettingly getting away from Jon “I thought I vetoed this?! I’m not going on a road trip!” 

_“Yes, you are”_ Maya stated simply.

“NO! I’m not! I have things to do! And road trips are stupid. I’m not doing it! You can’t make me”

Kathy huffed. 

_“Of course we can, Wayne”_

Jon felt Damian tense, as he tried to no avail to pull him back into his side. “I’d like to see you try” Damian said menacingly, and Jon could only see the back of his head but could already picture Damain’s eyes narrow.

Kathy and Maya just smiled in the face of danger, looked between themselves conspiratorially and said in unison _“We are going in the week between July the 6th and 14th!”_

Damian’s eyes widened, for some reason and, with the most hurt and betrayed tone said “YOU WOULDN’T” 

_“Yes, we would. The odds are in our favor, boy blunder. Right Jonno?”_

Damian turned to Jon as a fury with a look that said in capital letters ‘YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME’ and for a hot moment Jon didn’t have any idea of what was going on. Then his mind made the long forgotten connection and a slow smile spread on his face, just as he could see all hope die on Damian’s face. 

“Oh, yes, we are! We are celebrating my birthday at Wilson lake!!!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands.

Damian groaned, falling dramatically back towards Jon’s chest. 

He met him in the middle and laughed, falling on the pile of batfamily tsun tsun. 

July of course, couldn’t come fast enough. 

Damian and he couldn’t spend the 4th of July together, unfortunately, cause GOTHAM, but Jon still had a pleasant evening at Hamilton, with Kathy, Maya (who seemed to have become a permanent fixture at Kathy’s farm) and his entire family. Tim was there too, for some reason, and assured themthat he wasn’t needed in Gotham. When Jon questioned him about it he winked and said “you know how the bats are. They would take crime fighting over a crowded party every time of the week. Plus you managed to force Damian to take a week long break. He will use every second of every night until forced otherwise” 

Jon didn’t mind. This was the first 4th of July since coming back. He had missed all this. His parents, unlike the Waynes, were pretty big about independence day. He sent Damian a message chocked full of sparkling emojis, fireworks emojis and hearts. Lots of hearts. Just the right amounts of hearts to make sure to make his boy splutter and possibly throw his phone into Gotham’s bay. 

Then he ran towards the barbecue his father was about to blotch, before his mother could complain. 

He had missed this. 

As hard as Damian had tried to avoid it, July still had the audacity to come. 

He somehow had managed to escape the 4th of July, but on the evening of the 5th he found himself grounded from patrol on the pretense he had to ‘prepare and rest’

“You can’t sleep on a road trip, Dami” Richard had chastised him “the journey is half the fun” 

“Then it’s gonna be a _blast_ ” he had grumbled back, making his brother laugh. 

Richard was sitting on his bed together with Titus and Alfred the cat, somehow having self-appointed himself helper for the night. 

“Come on, Dami! You’re going to have so much fun! I’m so happy you get to do this with your friends” he smiled at him, a look of pure adoration and _love_ Damian had missed so much while his brother had been gone, and now that he had it back…

“Do what? Get my ass bitten by mosquitos and a crick in my neck from sleeping in a tent?? We are sleeping in small, ridiculous TENTS, Richard. The kind you get at wallmart! And they insist we have to drive there. It’s a four hours long journey. We could get there in half an hour by chopper. Hell, Jon could fly us all there in minutes!”

Richard sighed at him in obvious fondness. 

“It’s a ROAD trip, Dami. Meaning you have to get the whole ‘stuck in a too hot car with old songs blasting and copious amounts of unhealthily snacks and getting lost at least twice on the way and sleeping in a crappy low rent camping site with communal bathrooms, screaming children, mosquitos and Walmart bought Marshmallow to roast on a campfire singing cheesy songs. It’s not a road trip otherwise. It’s gonna be awesome!!!” 

Damian couldn’t even tell if he was trolling him or not, anymore. He had stopped caring. 

“It’s gonna be dreadful, that’s what it’s going to be! I can’t believe they would play the ‘it’s Jon’s birthday’ card at me. Maya is going to pay for this” he muttered angrily, showing another pair of black sport leggings in. No way he was going to wear shorts among strangers if he could help it.

Since Richard had blessedly fallen silent, Damian turned to scowl at him. 

He found his brother looking at him with his head tilted, and a slow smile on his face. The kind that screamed ‘I’m totally getting emotional right now, brace for the hug, IT’S COMING’. 

Damian started to brace himself. 

“You really care for him, don’t you?”

Screw bracing for the hug. He felt his whole body tense, and had to fight to keep an uncaring, loose appearance. He hadn’t really talked with anyone from the family about Jon, yet, except for Tim, who somehow -probably cause of the clone- seemed to be omniscient about everything related to his and Jon’s… _situation_.

He didn’t even know what their ‘situation’ really was. He had always been one to scoff at words like ‘boyfriend’, ‘girlfriend’, ‘couple’, ‘love’…in the world he grew up in, they had no meaning. 

But that was what Jon was now, wasn’t it? Jon kept referring to himself jokingly as Damian’s ‘superboyfriend’ and Damian had always felt too flustered and ruffled to correct him. 

Correct him with what, anyway? 

Friend was not enough. It hadn’t been enough for a long time, probably since the very start. 

Best friend? Yes, sure. But Maya was his best friend too, and while the word itself seemed to indicate the you could only have one of those, his relationship with Maya, and his relationship with Jon wasn’t the same. It couldn’t be. 

He had come to make peace with the fact that he was… attracted to Jon. 

He had. 

He would never admit to anyone, but he had. 

Jon was beautiful. There was no denying that. 

But… a lot of people were. The man currently smiling at him was one example of that. 

Richard Grayson was one of the prettiest men Damian had ever seen. 

But Jon… Jon was…

“Yes” 

He just answered at the end. 

And for some miracle, Richard was contented with just that. 

He clapped his hands like the over eager puppy he was and sat up straight, breaking the weird atmosphere “Well, then! Let’s pack up the perfect bag for the perfect road trip!” The oaf exclaimed. 

Damian sighed, resigning himself to the torture. 

One hour later, they had a bag ready, except for one small point of disaccord, on which neither of them had any intention of backing down.

“You have to bring at least one swimming suit, Dami! You’re going to a lake!” 

“I AM packing a swimming suit, Grayson!” 

“You’re packing a knee length wetsuit! There’s a difference!” 

“I see none. It’s meant to be worn to swim in, yes? Then it’s perfectly good”

Richard pouted at him. He honest to god POUTED at him. Like this was hurting him in some way. 

“I really don’t get why you don’t want to wear swimming trunks. If you don’t have any, I’m sure Tim would lend you some. Or you could probably buy some on the way…”

“If, and I repeat, IF I will go swimming, I packed the perfect attire for it. It’s comfortable and of high quality, perfect to swim in. And that’s the end of this discussion”

Richard’s pout turned sad. Damian looked away. He hated to see pity in other’s eyes, especially if turned towards him. 

“They’re your friends. They’re not going to care about…”

“It’s not that! I just don’t want to parade around strangers naked. That’s…undignified”

Once again Richard let him win. And Damian didn’t question it. He wanted to be done with the whole debacle. 

Damian didn’t mind his scars. He wear them with pride. It wasn’t that. It was… 

It wasn’t that. 

Next morning Jon showed up on the porch of Wayne Manor at the ripe hour of 5 am. A bleary eyed, grumpy Damian showed up carrying a black bag to go with his all black ensemble of long jeans, t-shirt and fleece jacket on. Sometimes Jon really wondered if Damian didn’t actually sweat, like, at all. He dressed in summer like most people would in spring, or autumn. Maybe it was cause he was raised in a desert climate? 

“Are you ready?” He asked excitedly. All he received in exchange was a grunt. 

Good enough for him. 

“I don’t see any car” a voice form behind Damian said. 

Richard Grayson showed up after a second, smiling down at the both of them. 

“Ah… that’s cause first we’re gonna fly to Hamilton. We’re using Kathy’s grampa’s old pick up truck” 

Damian’s brother raised his eyebrows “How old is the thing? You sure it won’t break down on you? I’m sure Bruce wouldn’t mind lending you-”

Damian kicked his brother in the shin, in a very out of character, conspicuous way. 

“TT. I’m sure Mr Kent wouldn’t ok this whole fiasco without checking it first, would he? Now. Let’s get this show rolling. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish it”

Jon exchange one last knowing smile with Richard Grayson, scooped up a grumbling Damian by the armpits and took off. 

As soon as they were out of sight he adjusted his old to carry Damian bridal style, pulling him close. 

Damian nuzzled his jaws with his nose and grumbled a weary “good morning”

So cute. He was so cute, Jon could scream. But didn’t. Damian seemed to drift off back to sleep, and he let him. 

Some forty minutes later (yes, Jon might have taken the longest route, too lost staring at thesleeping adorable boy in his arms, so SUE HIM)they were both standing on Kathy’s porch. As soon as they touched down, the door slanged opened to show too extremely stylish, ready for the beach girls already wearing matching aviator sunglasses (Kathy’s were pink, of course) sunshade hats and way too many bags for just two people. 

The blinding smiles they were both sporting brought back Jon’s one. He was starting to get excited. A whole week away (hopefully) from crime fighting, being with his best friends AND Damian to booth? He was READY. 

But the car was not. 

“Sooooo…were is your grampa’s truck?”

He looked around for the old black pick up truck, but it was no where to be seen. 

“Oh, that old thing? I sold it ages ago”

“….WHAT?!” Jon screamed. 

Kathy smirked, grabbing him by the hand and dragging his gobsmaked self to the back toward the barn.

“This baby, on the other end” she said, smirk only getting wider “Is ready for the taking” 

Jon just stared, for a second. 

“…What…”

A flaming bright blue 4x4 pick up truck just stared back, a big red ribbon on top.

While he tried to make sense of what he was seeing, a red bulky envelope entered his field of vision.

He turned to see Damian waving the thing at him, back and forth, a small but warm smile come to replace the early morning crankiness. 

Wordlessly Jon opened the envelope and caught the key that tumbled out, a simple note attached.

“Happy early birthday, Superson  ♥️ from Mom and Dad” 

Jon wanted to cry. He really did. It was perfect. 

He turned to Damian. 

“There is no way my parents could afford something like this out of the blue… it looks new, it must have cost a fortune!” 

Damian just shrugged “My dad helped a little. But he didn’t want his name on the card cause it was your parent’s gift. He was pretty happy to do it, so don’t worry. I think he’s gonna make your dad help him on a case in exchange. You know how he is. He couldn’t wait to get some time with your dad. He seized the chance with both hands”

Jon hugged him spinning him around.

“Omg, it’s perfect!!!” 

“hey! Put me down! I had no hand in it!”

“Yeah, but I wanted to hug you anyway”

“Well, if you two lovebirds are done” Maya interrupted them in a fake annoyed tone “we really should get going. I hope you actually know how to drive this monstrosity”

“If he doesn’t, I can—-” Damian interjected. 

“NO” three voices shut him up at once.

At around 9 am, with the sun fully out and the windows rolled down, they were flying trough Route 70, Funkytown blaring out of the amazing speakers of Jon’s pickup truck. Kathy and Maya had been bouncing in their seats at the time of the music singing off key like pros. 

Damian had… not been saying much. At first he thought it was because he was probably tired, being a night owl and all, but he looked wide awake now. The only time he had said something it was about which road best to take or to comment negatively on some other drivers’ ‘idiotic way of trying to get themselves killed’. Jon was starting to worry Damian actually didn’t want to be there and was only doing it cause they practically had forced him (Jon had been quite pleased his birthday had turned to be such an effective blackmail chip, if he was being honest).

He observed the boy sitting by his side with the corner of his eye, biting the side of his cheek until he couldn’t take it anymore. 

He slowed down as soon as he saw an autogrill sign and exited the highway, parking like a pro. 

“We stopping?” Kathy asked “great. Snack time. I’m starving!” She stretched and exited the car, together with Maya, giving Jon a look when he didn’t immediately follow.

Jon gave her an apologetic smile “We’re right behind you!” He said, praying Kathy would get the message. She gave him the eyebrow, shrugged, grabbed Maya hand and went toward the shopping area “We’ll save you a spot”

As soon as they disappeared in the shop, Jon turned to Damian, who had schooled his expression, if possible, into an even more blank look than usual.

“What?” He just asked, miffed. 

Jon sighed.

“Do you really not want to be here, Dami?”

Damian furrowed his brows further “What have I done?” 

Jon huffed, looking outside his window as if in search for answers.

“How have I messed this up just by sitting in silence?!” Damian burst out. 

Jon focused back on him, in surprise.

“What? No… you…you’ve not messed up anything!! I just don’t want you to be here just because… I don’t know. You feel compelled to, even though you really don’t want to… or something”

Damian huffed again, looking at his knees. 

“If I didn’t want to be here, I would _not_ be here, Kent” 

“But…”

“No buts. No one can force me to do anything”

“But you said…”

“I said what I said. I say a lot of things. You can’ except all of them to be true”

“What’s that even supposed to mean”  
“It means” Damian stated firmly, turning to look Jon in the eyes with determination “That I want to be here. With you. And I know…” he made a vague gesture with his hand “That I’m not the most… _cheery_ person to be around… I don’t know… I don’t know how to do… _this. But,_ stop thinking you’re forcing me to do anything. I’m fine and dandy were I am”

Jon grinned from ear to ear, grabbing Damian’s face and smacking him on the cheek with the loudest kiss he could muster “Am I gonna hear you sing ‘Mr. blue sky’ at the top of your lungs as soon as we get rolling again? It’s next one on the playlist” 

Damian made a disgusted face “Perish the thought. I’m taking control of the music as soon as we, ah, ‘get rolling again” he said, fishing what looked like a really fancy iPod from his pocket “Or next time you pull over it’s gonna be to let me vomit my frustration out” 

Jon kissed him on the cheek again. The other one this time. 

After raiding the shop of all of their crappiest snacks and allowing Damian to buy his coffee that looked more sugar and cream than caffeine, they went on their way again,‘I’m on a high way to hell’ blaring out of the speakers at full volume. 

They arrived at Wilson lake park an hour later, and Jon was IN LOVE. The sky was a full blue, the lake was sparkling, laughing voices could be heard in the distance, and he just wanted to take off and throw himself in the fresh water. As soon as they were parked, Damian, who apparently had stopped feeling self-conscious, took hold of the situation and went into the offices to pay for everything they had to pay, securing them one of the best spot - cause of course he would- and then leading them to it, a secluded, quiet place far away from everyone else to allow them privacy, but also close to all the amenities, and with a great view of the lake in the distance. They settled down to place their tents. He had actually wanted to get the old fashioned ones that took forever to built, just for the aesthetic of it, (or, if he was being honest, too see how long Damian would take to set fire to the thing when he would inevitably loose his temper with it) but his mother had gave him a look and made him buy the ‘throw them on the ground and be done with it’ kind. So they did, looking in great satisfaction as the things basically built themselves. 

Jon and Kathyjust stood there, hands on their hips admiring their handy work, until Maya decided to break the magic “you know you’re never going to get them back in their bags ever again, right?”  
“tt. I will do it” Damian grunted. 

“No, you won’t”

The bat turned towards her with a fiery look, extending his hand to grab the tent and show her just how wrong she was, but Jon stopped him lacing their hands together instead “Well, then! Let’s go explore, shall we?” 

Damian narrowed his eyes at him but complied, and they started to walk toward the long bridge.

Damian could admit to himself that this was…enjoyable. 

They had split away from the girl who had wanted to go swimming -Damian had no intention to get wet just yet- and him and Jon had taken one of the trails that lead into the forest surrounding the lake, and were currently surrounded by a canopy of bright green and the sound of chirping birds and scuttling fauna all around. 

It was…more than enjoyable, actually. Jon was holding his hand, swinging it back and forth and telling him where to look for all the animals surrounding them that he spotted with his enhanced senses. 

In three days it was going to be Jon’s birthday. Jon’s…18th birthday. Damian had contrasting emotions concerning that. In a way he knew that age, especially considering their extremely unusual lives, was really just a number. In his 14 years of age he had had more experiences than most people get to go trough during their entire life times, but at the same time… he couldn’t help but feel like Jon was slipping ahead of him, leaving him behind… 

Jon squeezed his hands, pointing at a tree left on their path “look” he whispered. 

He let Jon held him and silently they flew up to the tree, to find a nest of two baby herons with their beaks opened and chirping, probably calling for food.

Damian smiled at the fluffy creatures.

He bumped Jon’s head with his own “Let’s leave them alone. Or their mama will poke our eyes out.

Damian had a gift ready for Jon. Something he had been wanting to give him for sometime and was sure Jon would like a lot, but…there was something else he wanted to give him. Something he didn’t know if he had the courage to give, yet. 

Rationally he knew Jon would probably accept it withenthusiasm but…

“uh.oh, I think she spotted us” Jon said, flying to get away from a squawking adult Heron lounging at them. They stepped down on the trail and ran away for their lives. 

When they regrouped with the girls to go get lunch they both had their wet hair tangled in a mess, and two big matching grins.

“The water is great! You should come jump in too this afternoon!” 

Damian tensed a little, but before he could worry about how to weasel out of having to go trough the hassle of changing and then getting wet only to then having to dry again Jon saved him.

“I was thinking of renting bikes this afternoon! Also, we need to go buy some food if we want to survive… I want to make a barbecue!” 

To Damian relief they decided to go with that plan. 

The restaurant they went to was…nice. Nicer than he would have thought. It was inside an old wooden structure on a raised platform extending on the lake. While they were walking toward the entrance Maya pointed to the side. In the green murky water they spotted a group of turtles swimming lazily. Damian promised to himself to save something to bring back to them.

“That can’t be a pancake” he commented, eyeing Jon’s ‘lunch’. 

They had all gone with the ‘breakfast for lunch’ option. ‘cause they CAN’ Kathy had explained. 

Damian shook his head and focused back on his salad. 

“You’re just disappointed cause our lunch is so much more interesting than yours” Maya teased. 

“If interesting means unhealthily, than sure. Those pancakes are bigger than your head”

“They have vegetables on the side. Also they are made with yogurt instead of butter! See?” Maya explained, pointing to the menu glorifying their ‘healthy light pancakes, low in fat and rich in calcium and proteins’. 

Damian grimaced.

“Sure”

“You’re no fun” 

Kathy presented her girl with a particularly fat strawberry dozed in whipped cream and Maya forgot everything about their argument, blushing hard. 

“You are a disgrace” Damian told her. 

Jon burst out laughing. 

“What?” Damian asked, since Jon was looking straight at him. 

“Your face! You are the living embodiment of the ‘not in front of my salad’ meme. You even have a salad!!!” 

And there he went on laughing. 

“I have no idea what you are talking about” 

“He’s just pissed cause you’re not feeding HIM strawberries, Jon. Get on with the program” Kathy butted in. 

Jon turned to look at her and then at Damian, a slow smile spreading on his face. He plucked a big strawberry with his fingers and waved it in front of Damian’s face, who went crossed eyed looking at it. 

“Say aaaaaaaaaah” he told him.

Something on his face must have been pretty hilarious cause both Maya and Kathy started to howl like banshees.

Needless to say Damian turned his full attention on his salad after that. 

After eating the damn strawberry of course. And if he didn’t bite Jon’s fingers off, it was just cause he didn’t want to break his teeth on them. 

Of course. 

The rest of the day was spent exploring and then driving out of the park to get groceries. Jon was extremely excited by the prospect of having a barbecue every night. 

Damian felt really weird walking between the aisles of a cheap supermarket, holding the basket as Jon filled it with all kinds of unhealthy food. Usually at that time of the day he would be having a light dinner, already thinking of the night of patrol waiting for him. 

But for the next week there would none of that. No plan. No fighting. Just his friends. Just Jon. No obligations. 

It felt weird. 

It felt good.

When Jon came running back to him holding a packet of vegan marshmallows with the same excitement Titus usually demonstrated after carrying back a spit covered ball, Damian couldn’t help it. He had to smile, pet Jon’s hair and say “good boy”.

Thankfully their camping station was pretty far away from everybody else, cause normal people would be pretty surprised to see Jon turning the food on the flaming grid with his bare hands. 

“That is so unsanitary” Damian commented with a scrunched up nose. 

“Hey! I washed my hands seconds ago!” 

“Still”

“It’s easier this way”

“Cause using a fork is so very difficult. Also, get that meat away from my tofu” 

“It’s on the other side of the grid!” 

“Omg. Stop it you two. You’re not even 35 between the two of you together and you’re already like an old married couple”

“You!” Damian turned on Maya like a poked snake “you are playing with fire, Maya Ducard” 

“Naaah, that’s your boyfriend” said said, pointing at Jon, currently moving the glowing ambers around like they were stones in a pond “and if I had a dollar for every time you threatened me I’d be a really rich woman”

“Don’t ask for a penny, darling. He’s rich. Asks for a grand. We can built our own mansion before we hit twenty” Kathy intervened, lashing her arm trough Jon’s left one and tilting her head to lay on his shoulder. 

“I hate all of you”

Maya hugged him. 

After eating way too much food, they sat around a bonfire and Jon had never felt more happy and at peace. 

This reminded him of the trip he took with his parents, their last one. It was one of his happiest memories and now he could had this night to that list.

He carried the packages on vegan marshmallows, dark chocolate and cookies from their mini fridge and dumped them on the ground, near the log Damian was sitting on. He was delighted when Damian made space for him between his knees, as he subtly spread them apart. 

He wasn’t even looking at him, but from someone like Damian Wayne it was like an opened invitation. He never did anything by chance. 

He happily settled himself on the ground between his _boyfriend_ ’s feet. Wasn’t that a whole mood. 

Kathy seemed to think the same thing, since she wiggled her eyebrows at him. 

She was sitting snuggled against Maya’s side on a blanket, and they were bickering on what song to put on asthey cooked s’mores. 

As it turned out, Damian had never eaten a s’more before.

“We are gonna get fat if we eat this crap every evening” he commented when they explained the concept to him. 

“It’s tradition!” 

“It’s garbage!” 

“I found you vegan marshmallows!”

“It’s still pure sugar slapped on top of more sugar, sandwiched between sugar!”

“You like sugar”

“tt. Doesn’t mean I want to eat spoons full of it”

Jon put a slate of chocolate and two cookies in his hands to shut him up “hold these for me”

Damian took them, adorable frown still in place. Jon wanted to kiss that little line between his eyebrows. One of these days he was going to.

The notes of ‘Your Love by The Outfield’ filled the air. Kathy had lost the battle after all. 

When the s’mores were assembled, the mallow cooked to absolute perfection, crisp and gooey at the same time, Damian eyed his suspiciously.

“This can’t be a thing. Are you making fun of me? Does people really eat this?”

“Just eat, Dami” 

He narrowed his eyes at Jon, but complied. 

He popped the whole thing in his mouth and chewed for a bit, his face betraying no emotion.

“…well?” Jon asked, when he couldn’t take the waiting anymore.

Damian chewed a bit more, and then without missing a bit, plucked Jon’s own s’more from his slack hands and plopped that in his mouth as well “Make another”

“Hey!!! That was mine you thief!” 

His cute, dear boyfriend smirked demonically at him, and poked him with something sharp in his side. The poker, as it turned out “Another!” He demanded imperiously.

“…brat…”

When it was time to go to sleep they found out that their tents had been equipped with the best of the best air mattresses.

“That’s not how it’s supposed to be! It’s against the aesthetic of camping! You’re supposed to sleep uncomfortably on the ground in your sleeping bags!”

“Says the one that can’t get a crick in their back, how very hypocritical of you” Damian deadpanned. 

“it’s not that! It’s how it’s supposed to be! Right?” Jon asked, turning to find help from Kathy and Maya with a betrayed expression. 

“If you want to sleep on the hard ground you can always sleep outside, Jonno. I’m quite happy with my fancy air mattress” Kathy shrugged, lifting the flap of the girl’s tent and crawling inside “good night, boys”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU, MISS BRADEN” Jon screeched, a look of complete and utter betrayal.

Maya followed Kathy inside with a last wink directed at them “good night, sleep tight”.

And they were alone. 

He turned pouting at Damian, who was waiting by their tent, his arms crossed.

“Well? Are you sleeping outside? Cause I sure as hell am not”

“Fiiiine” Jon huffed. “But you’ll pay for this. The camping gods will make sure of it”

“How will I sleep tonight with such a Damocle’s sword pending on my head” Damian answered with a theatrical flat tone. 

Pretty well, as it turned out. 

“ok fine” Jon relented a little bit later “this IS pretty comfy”. 

As the air mattress practically swallowed them he pulled Damian close to his chest, his legs tangled with his. 

“Good night, Dami”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it!!! I decided to stop here even if it's just the first day cause after this shit is gonna go down and then there is Jon's bd and after that.... something will finally happen that I know many of you have been waiting for ;) (concerning Damian's gifts for Jon, uhuhuhuhuh bets are on)  
> well next chapter will be the end of 'part 2' that started after Hamilton faire...and after that we'll go into part 3, the final part of this story. We'll also have a time skip. I think this fic will have 20ish chapters after all. But that's only a rough estimate :'), cloud be a few more  
> Also, if you can't tell, I had way too much fun with the first scene of Jon having driving lessons with his father. I can totally see Clark freaking out at the idea of Jon driving, lol. Can't you? XD  
> UPDATE. I'm now writing a one shot merman jondami au. Cause someone lovely and evil gave me the final push. also it's Mermay. So expect to see that coming before the end of May ♥️


	16. The way you make me feel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long absence. I've had some problems and also didn't feel like writing cause of the shit happening every where.  
> I said this was going to be the last part of the camping trip but I lied. It will the next one. I wanted to update and I found a good place to stop.  
> I wasn't completely idle during this pause tho, since I started another jondami fic, a merman au which I had lots of fun with, so if you want to check it out, It's called "My heart is pierced by cupid" I made a fanart I'm quite proud of of Merman Dami and human Jon smooching I'm quite proud of ;)

The next morning Damian couldn’t escape the mandatory swim in the lake. He grumpily woke up to be greeted, upon exiting his tent, to the scene of Jon apparently getting naked. 

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING”

Jon did some kind of funny hopping on his place to wriggle out of his t-shirt and hoodie both at the same time. When he finally broke free, he smiled down at him. “What? Wearing my swimming suit! We’re going swimming! We also made you breakfast! Coffee and bread with butter and marmalade and bananas!”

“You… are getting changed out in the open in front of everyone”

Jon frowned and looked around “there’s no one here” he pointed out. 

Damian felt the childish urge to stomp his foot on the ground and scream “I’m here!!!”, but resisted it. 

He wasn’t, however, going to follow Jon’s example. Thank you very much. 

He went to grab breakfast grumbling some more about the fact that he wasn’t an animal and that he was going to find a place to change. 

He separated from the others once the lake came into view and they run to the water without a second glance. 

“Children” Damian commented, turning towards the communal washrooms. 

Changing in a place whose cleanliness was less than stellar wasn’t the best experience. People often thought that the bat family, practically living in a cave and all, must be used to all kind of nasty things, but they were wrong. The cave was spotless. Even without Alfred, in honor of his memory, they did their best to keep it that way. 

So yeah, all in all Damian had a terrible experience getting into his wetsuit, but managed. He was Robin. He was not going to be defeated by a dirty changing cabin. 

He paid for a locket for his stuff - he refusedto leave his stuff around like Jon and the girl seemed to want to do- and walked down to the lake. 

The others seemed to have already had their first jump in, as they were already wet from head to toe. 

And about that… Damian stop and swallowed a lump that seemed to have gotten stuck in his throat.. 

It was stupid. 

Damian wasn’t naive. 

He was used to see lots of skin on display. 

Muscular, beautiful people, all rippling muscles and sharp jaws. 

His brother was DICK GRAYSON, for crying it out loud. 

And it wasn’t like Jon’s new superboy uniform left much to the imagination _but…_

He stayed there, watching from afar trying to get his breathing under control and wishing the blush he knew had colored his face to go away, when something else made his breath itch. 

And not in a good way. 

There was a gaggle of people surrounding Jon. They looked like a group of teenagers, two tanned, blond girls that could pass for twins, and three boys, one of which, A tall, blonde guy with _way too short_ shorts, was getting way to close and personal with Jon for Damian’s liking. He kept fake punching him in the arm and _touching_ him and Jon looked all flustered and uncomfortable and Damian saw red-

Without thinking he took off, power walking toward them.

How dare he?

How dare they? 

HOW? 

As soon as he got closer, he cloud hear the barrage of questions they were throwing at Jon, and his anger boiled over into pure rage.

“Omg, boy, you work out! What’s your name? Are you from around here? You should come to our boat party tonight! You can bring your cute girls too. Is one of them your girlfriend? Are you single?”

_OVER MY DEAD COLD CORPSE._ Was all Damian could think in response.

Damian wanted to scream, rain down on the fool like vengeance incarnate, but all he did was forcefully, stepping between them, raising his face - the fact that he had to do that made him even more furious- to glare murder at the short shorts blond guy. 

The group of fools had the audacity to look innocently surprised, looking down at him with wide eyes. 

Instead of fleeing for their life like any sane Gotham crook would do in their place, the absolute imbeciles did something that signed their death sentence.

“Oh, is this your little brother, or something?” Short shorts laughed. 

The two girls _cooed_. They had the audacity to look at him like he was a puppy or something, one even tried to extend her hand to, gods above forbid, _pet him._

Damian sucked in a harsh breath trough his nose. 

Oh, they were _dead._ His father was gonna have to suck it up cause Damian was going to-

“Nope! He’s my boyfriend” Jon simply said with a sweet tone, putting a grounding arm around Damian’s shoulders. It probably looked sweet from the outside, but as Damian tried to break free he found the arm to be harder that a bar of steel keeping him firm in place against Jon’s chest. 

“…your what?” The blond idiot asked in disbelief. Now he was not just asking for retribution, wasn’t he? _He wanted it painful._

Why was Jon not letting him go? He was not going to kill a civilian in front of _everybody_ …nooo… he’d wait, plot, plan and then strike. During his stupid party, for example…

“He’s my b-o-y-f-r-i-e-n-d” Jon answered slowly, a cold edge to his voice that made Damian turn to look at him. 

Every trace of the previous, usual sweet smile was gone. 

Jon looked scary. 

“…how old even is he…” one of the two indistinguishable girls muttered. 

Jon apparently was done caring, however, cause he just turned on his heels, forcing Damian to do the same. 

“Wait!” The bloke called out, but Jon acted like he hadn’t heard a thing. 

“Jon…?” Damian asked, getting whiplash when Jon turned the smile back on for him, like the ice had never been there in the first place. 

“Yes?” His smile was blinding, drops of water clinging to his messed up hair, his lashes, his mouth looked cherry red and… “What are you doing?” He asked, a bit breath less. 

“Oh, well” he seemed to think about it for a moment “I’m about to throw my _boyfriend_ in a lake. He’s looking way too cool and proper for the occasion”.

Damian blanched. 

“No you’re not”

Jon’s smile turned devilish.

“Oh, yes, I am”

He picked Damian up in a bride carry and started running. 

“JONATHAN KENT YOU ARE DEAD!!!” 

Jon just laughed, as icy water submerged them both.

The swimming and splashing around… was fine. 

It might had even been fun if Damian’s mind hadn’t still been reeling because of what had happened that morning. It was stupid, really. He shouldn’t care about what a bunch of empty minded teenagers thought of him. He DIDN’T care. Of course he didn't. 

And yet…

Here, in such a normal setting, surrounded by other people Jon's age, seeing him look so perfect, so at ease, so GORGEOUS… Damian felt now more than ever like he was the real alien, different from everybody else. He didn't fit in. He never would. People would forever look at the two of them together and see two mismatched pieces of a puzzle. 

Why did Jon even like him? Did Jon actually liked him? Physically? Or was it just brotherly affection? After all Damian hadn't let their relationship go any further than pecks on the cheeks and Jon was almost 18. He probably wanted more, expected it even. He should be with someone his age, someone that looked good by his side, someone people wouldn't question. 

Someone that wasn’t an empty pot that had been broken too many times and put back together wrong. 

All this thoughts kept burning in the back of his head as he managed to sneak out of the water after a while without the others noticing. Those guys from before were gone. Thank the gods for small mercies. He sat in the shadow of a tree and looked back to the water after covering himself as best as could with a big towel.The others were still in the water, playing with a ball, Kathy and Maya doing their best to not let Jon touch it, now that he was in public and couldn't use his powers. Kathy seemed to have no such problems. A normal ball shouldn't be able to move like that without some help. 

With a sigh Damian looked down to his knees, mapping out the scars littering his legs. Maybe he should have brought a wetsuit with long legs…

His scars had never really bothered him. In the league, they were worn like a badge of honor. And as robin, they were a sight shared by every member of his family. He had never felt self conscious about them...until he had been faced by the prospect of having to show them to others outside of his family. It hadn't took him long to have his father sign out a permission sheet to skip P.E. when he forced Damian to attend school. He simply refused to change in the lockers and have to explain things to idiots that would draw the wrong conclusions.

And really, Damian didn't care about those silly minded creature's opinions, but with Jon… Jon… was perfect. There's no one that could look at him and not think "wow" and Damian… he was short. Stocky. His skin littered with scars. His nose too round, his cheeks too puffy, his eyes too murder crazy. He knew. He didn't care. He was just stating facts. 

With a last look to the water, were Kathy had climbed on top of Jon's shoulders and was currently trying to drown him, he stood up and turned towards the changing cabins. He needed to clear his head, or else he would end up ruining the fun for everyone. 

Jon managed to dislodge Kathy and emerged out in the air with a big gaps. 

Kathy laughed in his face as he tried to get his wet curls out of his eyes.

"Why, you little-" he turned towards her, ready to retaliate when he saw with the corner of his eye a dark figure retreat on the path leading to the building far in the park. 

Damian was leaving. To go where? He had a yellow towel slanged on his shoulders like a parody of his usual cape. It was kind of adorable. His shoulders, however, were kind of slumped. Which was weird. Damian didn't do any posture that wasn’t "perfectly erect" under normal circumstances. 

"Girls, I'm getting out for a bit. I'll catch up with you later?" Kathy looked at the same direction he was and smiled conspiratorially "go get him, Kent"

It took him a while to dry up, get dressed and find Damian. Not being able to use super speed was getting old, and fast.

Not being able to fly also sucked, cause it made finding Dami way harder than it should have been. 

Fortunately, he still had his super hearing. He closed his eyes and focus on the one heartbeat he had gotten so used to listen to in the last months. It only took a moment before he managed to lock on it and turn toward the right direction.

He found Damian huddled sitting on the steps leading to the wooden railing of the long wooden bridge crossing the lake, looking pensively over the water. 

He walked right behind him and bent forward until he was looking at his brooding boyfriend upside down. 

"Hi! What is a cutie like you doing here all by himself?" He asked jokingly.

Damian looked up with a blank expression. "I'm contemplating the futility of the universe"

"Ah. Well, can I tempt you to contemplate spending time with little me instead?" He skipped over Damian's form like it was nothing and came to sit near him. 

He pulled Damian to his side and was pleasantly surprised when the boy went willingly, resting his head on Jon's shoulder. 

"I could be persuaded" he muttered closing his eyes. He seemed deflated. Sad. Jon's heart clenched. He turned his face to burrow his lips into Damian's soft hair that for once were laying flat against his forehead. 

"There is a place I wanted to go to. Will you come with me?" He told him speaking into his hair. 

Damian pulled back to look at him "where?"

"...surprise?"

"I don't like surprises"

"Well suck it up"

Damian sighed "fine. What about the others?"

"I'm sure they are perfectly capable of amusing themselves. I wanna be with you now"

Jon led him to the car, and drove out of the park. He had seen this place when he was researching the park and he had promised himself to drag Damian to it. He really hoped it could cheer him up.

They didn't have to drive long. Damian sat 

in silence, looking outside to the countryside rolling by.

When they got close Damian seemed to perk up. He sat up abruptly pushing his nose against the car window. 

A couple of riders on a couple of beautiful brown horses were flashing by on the field running parallel to the road. Jon smiled silently.

As they crossed the old school iron gate spelling "Jhonson ranch" Damian turned to look at him with shining eyes. 

Jon's smile widened into a full grin. 

They got out after parking among a few more cars and Damian rushed to the wooden fence where a dozen horse were peacefully grazing. 

"See anything you like?" Jon asked, amused. 

"They are magnificent. Those must be Appaloosa, look at their coats! And these Mustangs" Damian explained pointing at different horses.

"You seem to be an expert!" Called a voice from behind them. 

They turned to see a brown skinned girl smiling at them. "Have you come to rent the horses?" 

"Can we?" Damian asked with enthusiasm.

The girl nodded with a grin. "Yup! Have you ever rode a horse before? If not I can help you pick a docile one. You can rent equipment such as helmets and boots too if you'd like" 

Damian turned toward Jon with a pleading look which forced Jon to hold in his laughter.

"Yeah, that's why we came"

Ten minutes later they were all set, Jon on a placid mare with spotted fur and Damian with a fierce dark stallion. He claimed he had been riding horses since he was three. Which was probably true. He looked like a prince on top of such a horse, shining high black boots and the proud posture of a professional horse man. Jon couldn't get enough of it and kept mentally patting himself on the back for his excellent idea. The girl gave them a few warning, pointed to a couple of trails they could take and they were off. Damian seemed positively giddy with excitement, patting his horse's neck over and over, gently murmuring to him in a language Jon couldn't place. 

"We had lots of horses at Nanda Parabaat when I was little. I would often go hide in the stables when it got to be too much...it's one of the few things I miss from...before" he said after a while, when they had reached a hill from which they could see the lake sparkling at a distance. 

"I mean" Jon started "it's not like you lack the space at the manor. Why not find a friend for Batcow" 

Damian laughed "yeah that would go over well with my father" 

"Why not? Horses are beautiful. I'm sure he'd buy you one if you asked nicely".

Damian's expression turned a bit wistful "It wouldn't be safe in Gotham. Horses should be free to roam, they are at home in large spaces such as these" he explained, turning to look at the vast expanse of land stretching all the way to the far horizon. 

To Jon, Damian himself seemed to be more at home there as well, away from the grime and grit of the city, his skin kissed by the sun, a blue endless sky as his background. 

"Maybe one day then. When we're older. I'll buy a farm somewhere and I'll buy you as many horses as you want. We'll bring Batcow and Titus and Alfred too"

Damian looked back at him in surprise, his hands making the leather of the reins crick with how strongly he seemed to be holding on to them. For a second Jon was afraid he had said too much, scared Damian away. In a few moments the other would probably tell him off, scorning him for thinking Damian Wayne would ever want to live such an inane life. 

Damian however just smile, sweetly. 

"That would be nice, wouldn't it…" he said in a whisper. 

Jon wanted to kiss him. Right there and there. Swipe him off his horse in a bridal carry, kiss the daylights out of him and ride away into the sunset. 

He restrained himself however. 

"So" he said "are you gonna show me your horseman mad skills? Or you all talk, no action?" He teased.

Damian grinned back with fiery light in his eyes, leaned down to whisper some more at the horse and then shouted a command. The horse raised his front legs fiercely neighing and started to run back toward the ranch with Damian crouched on top of him, laughing like a mad man as they left Jon in their dust.

"One day…" Jon repeated again, watching them get smaller and smaller in the distance. 

Damian's mood had considerably improved. He hadn't rode a horse in so long. It felt like flying. Better than flying, feeling the strong warm body beneath him, answering to every unspoken command. As he turned back toward the ranch he let himself daydream a little. It was something he didn't allowed himself to do often. He let himself imagine the impossible picture Jon had painted for them. A simple life, away from crime, out in the open. He imagined riding a horse like this one, maybe with Jon's arms encircling his stomach, his chest pressed close to his back. 

It was impossible. But he wanted it. He wanted it more than everything. So he let himself dream. For just a little. 

Only for a while…

When they got back, it was already the evening. They both felt a little guilty for leaving the girls alone for so long so they brought back an offering of pizza and cola which was received with glee. 

"I can't believe you went to see horses without us. I demand we go back there tomorrow too so we can ride one as well" Kathy declared and no one objected. Damian in particular seemed positively giddy at the idea.

Even though night was falling, the air was still hot and kind of suffocating, so they decided to find a nice spot by the lake to eat their pizzas, and they set out to walk a bit... turning the opposite way from the extremely loud boat party that was taking place on the east bank on the other side of the long bridge. 

They sat on on a deserted shady alcove surrounded by trees, from which they could see the main peer with its fairy lights that reflected gently in the waters.

"It might be loud and obnoxious but it sure looks pretty from over here" Maya commented looking out at the boat lighted up like a Christmas tree.

"You were invited. you can always go" Damian sneered throwing a pebble in the water breaking the twinkling reflection.

"I'm sure they'd welcome you with open arms. Jon especially"

"But I don't want to go. I have everything I want right here" Jon answered gently.

"You'd fit right in" Damian continued, feeling like the worst masochist. He couldn’t help himself.

"D…" Jon started, and when Damian ignored him he grabbed his head between his hands forcing him to look at him and squeezing his cheeks enough to make him look like an idiot “I’m a freaking alien that shoots laser from his eyes and can see through people's underwear. What part of that makes you think I’d fit right in an all blond rich teenagers boat party?”

“Hey, what against blond?” Kathy intervened. 

“Youshpermanshon” Damian tried to talk back, his squished together lips unable to form sounds properly, much to his annoyance.

“Yeah...and my father is such a party butterfly, isn't he? He’s a freaking nerd. You know that” 

“And anyway” Maya interrupted as well “Why would we want to go those idiot’s party when we can party so well on our own” she said with an ominous grin.

Damian felt his face pale. 

“...Maya…?”

“Ta-da!” the girl said in unison, producing two bottles from the bag they had suspiciously wanted to bring at all costs. 

Jon let Damian’s face go in shock. 

“KATHY!!!” he screeched in horror and disbelief. 

“What?” she asked back defensive.

“I am appalled!” 

“omg. Really. Are you gonna clutch your pearls, Kent?”

Jon’s face said he wanted to do just that. It was almost funny. 

“I...you….YOU!!! MY FATHER IS GONNA DROP FROM THE SKY WITH THE WHOLE JUSTICE LEAGUE TO FRY US ON THE SPOT” 

“He certainly might, if you keep screaming like that” Kathy commented, rolling her eyes.

Well, scratch that ‘almost’, this was down right hilarious. 

“Just for two bottles of barely alcoholic flavored beer? I think the justice league has better to do, Kent” Damian intervened, unable to control his smile.

“DAMIAN. Your father would SKIN us!”

“You can’t even get drunk!”

“THAT’S SO NOT THE POINT” 

“And neither can Kathy. Or can you?” Damian continued as if Jon hadn’t spoken at all. 

Kathy looked pensive “You know, I’m not sure. I probably can, if I drink something strong enough. I don’t think these will cut it, to be honest”

“I doubt they could get me or Maya drunk either. So calm down, boy-scout. They’re basically glorified sodas”

“YOU’RE NOT DRINKING THAT. HOW DID YOU EVEN BOUGHT THEM? IT’S ILLEGAL!”

“Weeell….”

“KATHY” 

“She might or might not have made the seller believe we were paying for two bottles of cherry cola”

“KATHY BRADEN YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF”

“Yeah, I’m a terrible influence. Now that we have established that, can we eat? Here, I’ll even put music on”

“BUT-”

“Also” Kathy added, winking in Damian’s direction conspiratorially “do put that frozen breath to good use, cause both the beer and the cola have gone warm”.

Damian had to admit that in normal circumstances he would have frowned at the idea of drinking, it wasn’t something that he ever felt the need to try, and didn’t see the appeal of mudding his senses until he couldn’t think straight anymore. And Jon was right, his father WOULD skin them if he knew but… those beers really had such a low alcohol levels to be practically innocuous and the betrayed and righteous expression on Jon’s face was simply too good to resist. 

“you do realize we break the law every day with our vigilantes activities, right?” he couldn’t stop himself from pointing out in glee, while he took another sip from his paper cup full of cherry beer. He liked the stuff. It was sweet and bitter at the same time. It felt perfect running down his throat. 

Jon just gave him a flat, pouting expression, munching on his pizza almost aggressively. 

It made him want to coo. Which was silly. Damian Wayne didn’t coo. But somehow that didn’t seem to be important at the moment. 

All he wanted was to keep pestering Jon, see him get mad, see his blue eyes light up in anger in that way that made Damian feel all kinds of strange…

The girls seemed to find Jon’s poutines hilarious as well. Or was it something else? Damian wasn’t really paying attention. 

“We should sing!” Kathy suddenly screamed, raising his cup, sloshing sticky liquid everywhere “drawn those fuckers' stupid music out!” she declared, maybe a bit too loud. 

“Omg, Kathy! Scratch the fact that you’re an alien, you’re drunk!” Jon lamented.

“I’m not!!” She protested “And they are. Fuckers I mean” 

“KATHY!” 

“THEY ARE. YOU KNOW THEY ARE KENT! YOU HEAR ME? YOU ARE ALL F-----” she tried to scream to the other side of the lake towards the boat before Jon managed to grab her and put a hand on her mouth, effectively shutting her up “shut uuuuup! Kathy! Are you out of your mind? If someone comes here we are so screwed!!!” 

Kathy managed to free herself however, and raising both hand to the sky continued screaming “WE DON’T WANT TO COME TO YOUR STUPID PARTY ANYWAY CAUSE WE HAVE OUR UBER DUPER CUTE BABY DEMON WITH US!!! HE’S WAY BETTER AND COOLER THAN ANY OF YOU!” 

Damian’s eyes went wide at hearing her defending him. She was actually defending him. 

She probably was pretty drunk. How that had even happened, Damian couldn’t understand. Were aliens of Kathy’s kind hypersensitive to even the smallest quantities of Alcohol? A part of his mind was wondering. The other part didn’t really care though, cause that part considered this whole situation freaking hilarious. 

When Kathy’s cup finally went flying falling straight on Jon’s head upside down it was when Damian couldn’t really take it anymore. His eyes met Maya’s sparkling ones and he had to let it out, first a snort, the an half strangled hiccup, which made Maya loose it pushing him to follow suit. 

His full belly laugh sounded strange to his own ears, like a broken engine, and the more he laughed, the more Maya laughed, making him laugh and laugh, until his abdomen started to burn. 

He couldn’t stop. He had never laughed so much. It hurt. And it was freaking hilarious that it did. 

Jon looked even more offended when his own traitorous lips started to curve up looking at his three friends rolling on the ground at his expense, while sticky frozen liquid slowly drenched his shirt, all the way to his underwear. 

“I hate you all” 

That only made them laugh harder. 

Jon narrowed his eyes at Kathy. suddenly he grabbed her in a fireman carry and turned towards the lake. 

“You know. We stink” he said all conversional like. 

“JONATHAN KENT DON’T YOU DARE!” 

“Stop me” and he run.

“JOOOOOOOOON I’LL KIL---”

Jon dive bombed in the water so fast the little tsunami splash came all the way back to Damian and Maya, still clutching at their stomachs. 

A second later Kathy reemerged spluttering, still mid screaming “YOOUUUUUUU!” 

An epic battle of which alien drowned the other alien first ensued. 

“What?” Jon asked “You did say it was too hot!” 

“I’m gonna burn all of your clothes and force you to go around naked!!” 

“Omg, that’s such a randomly specific threat”

“better yet, I’m gonna switch all of them to god awful 70s fashion. Elephant pants and all!” 

“Aw, I think I’d rock that”

“Come here and let me drown you!!” 

Maya was finally managing to get her breath back. 

“You know” she said to Damian “I think I’m gonna join them. It is too freaking hot”

“What?!” Damian asked, but before he could get an answer he saw Maya throwing her shirt and shorts to the wind and run straight into the water screaming. 

In her underwear. It was way too lacy to be a swimming suit. 

“WHAT THE HELL”

“THAT’S MY GIRL”

A second later another wet shirt came flying over Damian’s leg, drenching his jeans trough and trough.

“What the actual hell, Braden?!” 

“Oh, come on! Jump on in and live a little, Wayne!” 

“I’M NOT GETTING NAKED IN THE OPEN, YOU CRAZY GIRL”

He had made a mistake, however. Once he realized it, it was already too late. A cold, wet, hard as stone hand was clutching his ankle. And pulling. 

In a second all he could feel was cold water EVERYWHERE. He opened his eyes to find blue ones almost sparkling in the dark. 

He pushed his hands out to strike at the figure in front of him but the water made his movement slow and sluggish. The form swam away in a flurry of bubbles. 

He broke the water surface gasping, frantically searching around for Jon, but the half alien was nowhere to be found. 

He made his way back to solid ground muttering and spluttering, his clothes and shoes weighting him down like rocks.

When he had finally got out of the water he found the view of a pair of very familiar jeans greeting him, wet on the ground, getting muddier and muddier by the second. 

He felt his face go beet red. 

Then more water hit him on the back and he turned in fury, finding Jon grinning at him. 

“Where the heck is your shirt?!” he demanded, when he saw Jon’s bare shoulders peeking out of the water. 

Jon just shrugged and pointed down “I kind of lost it” 

“You--- what is wrong with you all!?! This isn’t a nudist beach! It’s illegal to prance around butt naked like this! It is public indecency!” 

“But Dami… we break the law every day, don’t we?” Jon parroted his own words back to him sweetly. 

“I’m seriously going to strangle you. Right now. With your own pants”

“Ah, but to do that you’d have to catch me first” Jon mused, swimming even farther from dry land. 

Damian stared daggers at Jon, at the perfectly innocent picture he painted, rosy cheeks, sweet smile, absolute mess of hair that looked like a small black hole against the bright background of the lighted up east bank. 

With a laugh and a backflip Jon dived under the water, disappearing from view.

“better catch me, Dami”

Jon dunked his head back under water again planning to splash surprise Dami for the last time before getting out an rejoin his boyfriend back on land, knowing there was no way he would join them for real. It was fine. he had his fun. And he was still reeling from hearing Damian laugh like never before. it was a sound he would never forget.

Something heavy dropped in the water close to him. What were the girls up to? He turned to see when a pair of strong hands came to lock around his neck, mockingly wrangling it. 

His eyes widened when he realized he could still clearly see the girls swimming a few yards away from him, and realized the hands didn’t belong to them. Then a too familiar heartbeat greeted him, and he turned to see a mighty pissed off, and way to underdressed, Damian Wayne. 

Jon could see skin. LOTS OF IT. he spluttered before remembering he was underwater and felt his lung filled up with water.

He super sped them out of the water and probably a bit too high off of it to look normal seen from an outside perspective but he didn’t care, he was too busy spouting lake water and choking on all kinds of feelings. 

“Wow. is this how the all powerful Superboy goes? Defeated by a mouthful of murky sludge?”

“Sus-cough-sush! COUGH. This is-cough! YOUR FAULT!” 

“How is it my fault when you’re the one who threw me in the water in the first place?”

“You…. YOU… I MEAN” he coughed again, spouting out the last of the water, and then turned to completely face Damian. 

He wasn’t able to even look at his naked shoulders. 

Which was stupid. Jon was well aware. But Damian never, EVER showed skin. 

EVER. 

And now there he was, less than a foot between them, wearing only his black briefs and looking at Jon intently, with those impossible eyes of his… and getting closer. 

And closer. 

“Dami…”

“Shut up” the other said, closing the last of the distance, a hand suddenly grabbing the back of Jon’s head and pulling him in.

Jon didn’t even have the time to close his eyes as wet warm lips closed on top of his. 

It was like fireworks were going off. 

Or better yet, in actuality fireworks were indeed going off, somewhere, probably, like, right behind them, his super senses were telling him. 

But Jon couldn’t care less. 

The whole Justice league and Apokolips the war planet could have dropped from the sky guns blazing, Jon wouldn’t have been able to give a damn. 

Damian was everywhere. His heart was beating like that of a hummingbird against his, his scarred skin was brushing against his, his nails were digging in his back, probably with enough force to break a normal human’s skin, his wet eyelashes were tickling Jon’s cheek bones and his mouth… fit perfectly against Jon’s own.

Jon sighed in the kiss finally closing his eyes as a third, very loud whistling firework went off again from the boat, and he hugged Damian’s hips with his hands, raising him a bit higher, until Damian got the hint and circled his legs around Jon’s torso, and his arms around his shoulders. 

It had only been a closed mouth and crooked kiss, but when they parted they were both smiling, and painting as if they had ran to the moon and back. 

“I love you” Jon mumbled against the side of Damian’s bottom lip, feeling it stretch upward and sideways.

“you are a sap”

“You love me for it”

Damian drawn back and scrunched his nose in fake disgust. 

Jon just laughed, nuzzling his nose against Damian’s scrunched up one, trying his luck again as he finally kissed Damian Wayne of his own volition for the time. 

It didn’t stay a closed mouth kiss for long. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, THE SMOOCH.  
> Yeah, I know they acted all pretty crazy in this chapter. But I don't think too crazy. I didn't add the "underage drinking" tag cause honestly... you can't really call drinking one cup of barely alcoholic beer as drinking you can't even get drunk from it. but if anyone feels offended by it I'm sorry. I'll put it there. I just didn't want to think this story deals with addiction or anything cause this will seriously be the only time they do anything like this.  
> Also I really, REALLY wanted them to go skinny dipping. Basically I wanted to make Jon and Dami horrified, in turn. And yeah, they ARE still wearing their underwear. Or I think Damian would simply have an aneurism.


	17. A toast to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so very sorry :(  
> But life has picked up again after so long lost doing nothIng and it's a MESS.  
> Anyway, i made it! And this chapter marks the end of part two of this fic! I'll talk more about what that entails in the end notes.  
> I love this chapter to bits, I got really emotional writing it, so I hope you'll like it :) Especially the ending ^^

Damian woke up slowly, finding himself in a warm comfortable cocoon. His cheek was squished against a firm chest, lifting him gently up and down, and two strong arms held him firmly in place. After four days waking up like this, he feared coming back to his huge empty room in the manor. 

Titus better be up for lots of therapeutic cuddles once he came back. 

Slowly he moved away from Jon until he could lie on his side, supporting his head with his right arm, leaving the other one laying on the crook of Jon's neck. 

The other boy was still soundly asleep, the light in the tent was still muted...it was probably still quite early.

The only sounds you could hear all around were those of nature waking up.

Today Jon turned 18.

It still felt weird to think about… less then a year ago 18 seemed like an age a life away from them. Especially in their line of business, more often than not Damian had found himself wondering if he would ever reach it, or if he was actually destined to never reach adulthood, a glass case in memory of a forever boy wonder. 

In the past few days such dark thoughts had seemed to dissolve, like a sand castle swept away by the waves.

He had kissed Jon. 

It had been...not what he had expected. Not at all.

He had always scoffed at pda. It had disgusted him even.

It had scared him. It left one vulnerable, and Damian Wayne never pinned his heart on his sleeves.

It hadn't been anything like that, however. It had made him feel… warm. Safe. Strong. Cared for. All the things that, against his better judgment, he had come to associate with Jon.

He let a small smile grace his lips. If it was ridiculous and cheesy, no one had to know. 

He lifted his thumb from where it was resting on Jon's Adam's apple to caress his chin lightly, and then his hand traveled up like a spider to come and rest on Jon's plush bottom lip… he traced the shaped of it with the pad of his index finger until the mouth parted under it letting out a small exhale. 

Jon opened his eyes slowly and smiled up at him.

"Hi there" he murmured, voice raspy from sleep. 

Damian refused to look flustered from being caught staring at his… boyfriend. It was his right after all. 

Jon was his. 

"Good morning" he answered "It's still early. You can sleep a bit longer"

"Nah… I'm awake now. Plus, it's my birthday…" Jon said with a twinkle in his eyes, and then hesitated a little "Do I get a happy birthday kiss…?"

Damian felt his face go up in flames. Why, really, WHY hadn't his mother trained that out of him again??

Jon had pushed his own face up, completely ignoring the hand Damian was pushing against his neck to keep him down, and when his lips were about to meet Damian’s, he put that hand to better use, using it to cover Jon’s face with it and plummeting it back to the mattress.

“I have morning breath, you animal” he muttered, embarrassed, as he crawled toward the opening of the tent.

“Awwww come on!!! It’s my birthday! I demand a birthday kiss!” Jon nagged with the petulant tone of a child denied a lollipop. Damian refused to answer it and unobtrusively retrieved his bamboo toothbrush and paste. 

It was true, dammit it. All those romantic comedies that Grayson liked to watch, with those couples all kissy and cuddly after waking up were a pack of lies! He HAD morning breath and that wasn’t fair, cause he wanted to kiss Jon. Very much so. He never wanted to leave the damn tent if he could help it. 

But reality sucked. 

He was also reminded that on this day, he was a man on a mission. As soon as he got out, a blonde head snuck out of the other tent, giving him the thumbs up. 

Fine then. He would do his part. 

After taking his time thoroughly brushing his teeth and otherwise making himself presentable -and wasn’t that another lie from Grayson’s shitty netflix choices...why did everyone look so perfect in the morning? Cause Damian felt like a mess, and lately that feeling seemed to increase everytime Jon was near- he turned back to the tent, finding Jon exactly where he left him, and still wearing a mighty pout.

“It’s my BIRTHDAY” he repeated, like someone accusing another of stealing candy from a child. “I NEED a birthday k---UMPH” he exclaimed, as Damian literally threw himself on top of him in a move that would have broken a couple of ribs in a normal person. With Jon, it only succeeded in stealing his breath away, effectively shutting him up. 

“Shush. I heard you the first time, you demanding CHILD” Damian said imperiously, crawling up Jon’s chest until they were face to face. 

He heard Jon’s breath itch, and that was the last boost of confidence he needed to kiss him again without adrenaline and the barest amount of alcohol to give him courage. Away from all the confusion they had been in the previous night, the bright lights, the noises, the splash of the water, and able to focus instead on just himself and Jon, existing in the same space...it felt overwhelming. 

He was used to always be alert, cataloging everything and everyone, in complete control of his spacial awareness. Now...he wasn’t sure where he ended and Jon began. It was too much. Too close, TOO… he was feeling too much. He should stop. he should never do this again. He should NOT let himself be so plaint and defenseless, his soul and all of his nerve endings uncovered and ready to be picked at. 

But he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t stop. He wanted this too much. He had never really been selfish, not really. Even his most selfish acts before, had been meant to prove something, make himself better, advance his father’s mission or his mother’s. This was just for himself. No higher calling. Just him, and Jon, their mouths, their tongues, spit dripping down their chins, hands fumbling. It was animalistic, really, the most analytical part of his brain thought, what weird creatures human were, to enjoy something like this. It really was kind of disgusting. Unsanitary. And so…

sweet.

He sighed into it, reminding himself that spending the whole morning exploring Jon’s tonsils wasn’t an option, especially not today, and that if he didn’t want Maya and Kathy literally tearing down the tent flap on them, they should probably stop.

He shifted his hands to brace himself against the mattress and pull away when Jon, at the barest hint of him getting up let out a lamenting noise and in a second Damian’s world flipped, as he found himself with his back where Jon’s was just moments before. 

Jon traced his bottom lip with his tongue and Damian felt a shiver go down his spine and the damn blush come back to his cheeks and Jon’s lips smile against his own and then kisses all over his face, his chin, the corner of his mouth, his nose, his eyelids--- “Stop!”he yelled, but Jon kept going, ignoring him completely “Stop! You are worse than Titus! Stop!!” Damian ordered, feeling Jon starting to laugh, and kiss him, and kiss him until…

“JONATHAN KENT!!!” Damian screamed “DID YOU JUST---?”

“Ehy you two! Are you done in there? Do I need to call Batman? Are you harassing Batman’s son, Jon? Do you want the numbers on your grave to coincide?” 

Damian’s eyes went wide and he finally succeeded in pushing a still laughing Jon off, fumbling his way out of the stifling tent with a deep scowl on his face. As soon as he got out he found a smirking Kathy to greet him, blond eyebrows raised and all.

“Not a word” he threatened “Or I will not be held responsible for my actions”.

“Awww you made the baby bat angry! What did you do, exactly this time?” She asked after having tackled Jon to the ground, on top of their tent, to wish him a happy birthday. 

“Well” Jon started “he said I was worse than Titus!”.

Maya, that had just joined them after a bathroom break, turned to look at a still fuming Damian, that was trying to seem busy with his bag.

“Did he…” she stage whispered. 

Damian turned with a cold stare toward the group. 

“You!” he pointed his finger at Jon “You MIGHT be the one turning eighteen today, but I will let the world know who the responsible adult is in this relationship!” 

Jon just smirked, opened his mouth and… woofed.

“Did he just…”

“He _licked_ me”

They drove a few miles to a pretty diner to have a “regal breakfast”, or so Maya had dubbed it. 

Jon wasn’t sure if there was anything regal about it, the right term would probably be “humongous” as barely any part of their table was still visible. 

Mountains of pancakes, scones, fruit smoothies, dripping chocolate, yogurt, eggs and cheese, toasts and honest to god ice cream was covering every available surface. 

They had all agree on foregoing the bacon in respect to Damian vegetarianism, and also because… Jon wasn’t too sure Damian would actually kiss him again if he saw him eating meat. And that just wasn’t a sacrifice he was willing to make. 

Ah, the things we do for love…

If he was being honest, there was little he wouldn’t do to make sure Damian kept kissing him. He knew that with a scary certainty. In general, he knew Damian had him wrapped around his little finger. And he was FINE with it. 

That morning too… he hadn’t meant to keep kissing Damian...he had know Kathy was right outside, but… he was addicted already. So sue him. 

It was his birthday. 

He picked another strawberry from his plate and plopped it in Damian’s plate. 

“What? I’ve eaten mine already, I don’t need more!” 

“But you like them!”

“Yeah, and so do you! I’m fine!”

“Awwwww look at you. So cute. I can just imagine the two of you arguing like this all the way till you’re 75, Damian an old cranky granpa yelling at the kids to get off his lawn while Jon tells your grandchildren the adventures of your youth. So cute” 

“TT. Why am I the grumpy granpa? I would totally be the rich, cool one. Jon is probably going to be wearing some stupid checkered shirt and a baseball hat. Not ME”

“I’m not sure, Wayne… I can totally see you limping after some poor brat waving your cane in the air” Kathy finished explaining, as Maya cleared her voice, took hold of her fork waving it in the air and with a gruff voice mimicking Damian slightly accented oneand said “get of ma lawn ya punks! In my days we hang imbeciles like you from the toe fingers! I’m gonna sick my evil 65 years old cat on ya!”.

Damian’s scrunched up expression made it even funnier “I don’t talk like that! I will never talk like that!” 

“Oh, you totally would by the time you’re 75, after spending most of your life hanging around Gotham’s tugs. You’re doomed buddy” 

“NO I AM NOT. Not even Todd talks like that!” 

“Wait, you’re right! Maybe it won’t be the tugs rubbing off on you! It will be the other way around! Immagine that! _‘Mister Batman! I demand to be released from the chain of oppression you have enthralled me with! Or I will END YOU!’_ ” 

“MAYA!” Damian screeched, trying to sound louder than Jon and Kathy’s laughter.

“Jon! You’re supposed to be on my side! I’m gonna find a kryptonite fork and shove it up your-”

“Ok, ok, I’ll stop! Why a fork tough?” Jon Asked between laughs, unable to stop, until his tiny boyfriend’s glare shut him up for good. 

“I’m sorry Dami” he said sincerely extending another fat strawberry as a token of apology.

Damian huffed in that way most thought was condescending and patronizing but that Jon found absolutely adorable.

“You’re lucky I like you, AND it is your birthday”.

The rest of the morning was spent swimming, this time with no accidental meeting with douchebags and no protests from Damian. Whatever had stopped him from enjoying himself the day before seemed gone now. He showed up to be quite a good swimmer actually, as Jon probably should have expected, since his boyfriend was good at everything. 

If when Maya lamented the fact that apparently Damian secretly had gills -cause no normal humans could possibly stay underwater that long- Jon imagined Damian with a long green tail, a naked torso and palmed hands...no one needed to know. It was his birthday. he could indulge. 

It wasn’t after later in the afternoon that Jon realized something fishy was going on. 

“Yeah, we have to go now” the girls announced. Damian wanted to face palm so bad. If he didn’t, it was only because that would be the only thing that could make this thing even MORE obvious.

“What? Where?” Jon had asked “I wanted to play some more!” He pouted, bouncing the basketball they had been amusing themselves with for the past hour (turns out that Basketball between a bunch of super-powered and super-trained teenagers can be all kinds of fun and could go wrong in a LOT of ways…).

“Yeah, sorry boo… I’m afraid you two will have to be content with some one-on-one action for a bit. We have stuff to do. Byeeeeee” Kathy said, dragging a snickering Maya away, leaving the two of them awkwardly standing in the middle of the small court. 

“Right” Damian said after a bit, shaking himself like a wet dog in order to shake away the embarrassment caused by her oh so very subtle teasing. 

_Damn Kathy and her innuendos. She is never going to stop, is she? I need to find a way to get…justice._

Jon turned to Damian with an accusatory glance “Where are they going? What are they planning? It’s MY BIRTHDAY AND HALF OF MY PARTY HAS DESERTED ME” 

“Jeez, can you pout any louder? I think your father in Metropolis hasn’t heard you yet! I’m still here, am I not? You’re gonna have to content yourself with me for a while”

“You know as well as I do that my dad isn’t in Metropolis. Both our dads are in outer space, and mum had that undercover reporter thingy, while Conner is busy with the young justice! It’s the reason we are here this week especially! And now my best friend and her girl are gone! To do what? WAIT” Jon turned towards him with stars in his eyes “It’s cause they are preparing a surprise for me, aren’t they?” He asked in wonder. 

“Wow. I’m gonna call you Sherlock Holmes for today on”

“Omg, what is it?”

“You forget the meaning of the word ‘surprise’”

“But I want to know now! I don’t want to wait!” 

“Well, that’s your problem, not mine. So, should we go doing something productive?”

“If you put it like that…”

“…That’s….not what I meant” 

“Eh? Why not! IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!”

“You’re really milking that for all its worth, aren’t you”

Jon turned silent at that, his smile turning a bit sad.

“It’s just…I barely even remember my last birthday. I think I spent my eleventh one while we were dealing with that blasted cube…and before that… I didn’t know you, or Kathy… I only had Mum and Dad. I think we went to see a movie? And I do remember the cake… but… friends like this? Being able to have THIS?” He squeezed Damian’s hand meaningfully “Before…I didn’t even know I wanted it, and after… I never hoped I could”

_Way to make a guy feel guilty. This is a whole other level of puppy dog eyes. Grayson would be proud._ Damian winced. He was not going to crumple tough. He had promised. 

He squeezed back, and led Jon away from the court. “They will only be gone for an hour or so. Thus keep your nose - _and most importantly your ears,_ Damian added in his mind _-_ out of it. I have the perfect way to spend that time doing something much better than pout until they come back”

“Oh, really?” Jon asked leering.

“GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THAT GUTTER JONATHAN KENT OR I’LL DO IT FOR YOU”.

Damian led him back to their tents to ‘retrieve something’. Jon had half a mind to search for the girls and hear what they were up to, but decided against it. He did, actually, enjoy surprises. Even tough he would have liked the others to still be here. If his friends were willing to go to great lengths to do something for him, he wasn’t going to spoil it for them. Also, as soon as Dami got out of the tent again, his mind went somewhere completely different. 

Damian was holding a blue box, tided up with a vibrant green ribbon. Jon felt his eyes widen and his mouth stretch. 

“Is that for me???” 

“No. Of course not. I brought a wrapped gift all the way here to gift it to myself. I’m just special like that”

“GIMME” Jon said excitedly, making grabby hands, but Damian kept it away from him.

“Not here. Let’s walk”

And so they did, hand in hand. Which was always nice. 

Jon kept glancing at the packet and again, the temptation to look inside it was damning, but this time Damian saw right trough him.

“Don’t even think about it. The box is lined in lead”

“…really?”

“Yup”

“Wow”

“I know. I’m the best”

After a while Damian seemed to be satisfied, and sat by a bench, overlooking the lake, away from the crowd. 

He looked at the package for a bit longer, after finally handing it to Jon. 

“Happy birthday, Jon” he said simply, with a small smile gracing his lips that made Jon choke on air and his eyes sting. 

He couldn’t resist. He grabbed Damian’s cheeks before grabbing the package and stamped a quick peck on his soft lips “Thank you” he said with a big smile. 

Damian rolled his eyes and huffed “just opened it, before I change my mind”

“oooh, it’s that kind of gift?”

He quickly opened it after the bat glare he received, afraid Damian would suddenly decide to take it back. 

He totally WOULD. 

The box was not, indeed, lined with lead. But even looking at it trough the paper, Jon had no idea what it was. Once he finally uncovered it, it was even less clear. 

“It’s… a watch…?”

“Could be used as one, yes. But that not what it is”

Jon took the bracelet like object out of its box, and carefully twirled it to watch it from different angles. It looked like one of those overly complicated multifunctional watches, of the kind you can use underwater, or probably -knowing Damian- in space or in hot lava or something.

“Soooo…what is it?” Jon finally asked, defeated. 

Damian snorted a bit, and then took it with one hand, using the other to fish something out of his pocket. 

He produced a device looking exactly the same, though this one was pitch black instead of silver, like Jon’s. He held them side by side between them.

“…you remember, a few months back, you asked me to promise something to you” He started, in a quiet tone.

Before Jon could answer, he kept going “you asked me to promise I would not go on my own and get myself in danger without you, that I would call you if I need a hand” Jon nodded along emphatically. How could he forget? Not only had that been on their first date, but it had made Jon immensely happy when Damian finally said yes. And immensely relieved.

“Well. This… is about that. There is adirect come link between the two, very hard to jam and able to cover great distances, since it’s hooked on the Wayne satellite. It can stand extreme pressure and weather and it’s almost impossible to hack… and it has a panic button and a really good tracker and——mphfh”

Jon literally picked him off the bench in his haste to kiss him. 

“this - he tried to say between kisses- you…I … you!!!”

Damian started to laugh at some point, trying to evade him “Stop! Why does it always end like this with you? Is this gonna be a thing? Cause I won’t stand for it!” He protested, all fists and kicks, until they both fell from the bench and into the flower strewn grass.

“Jonathan Kent!!!” 

“This is the best gift ever and I love you so much, Damian Wayne!” Jon exclaimed with no remorse hugging Damian tight, rolling left and right.

“YOU! I MEAN. I mean…” Damian rumbled against Jon’s chest, his voice turning quieter and quieter “I’m glad you like it. And…” he pushed against Jon to lift his head up, looking him straight in the face “I…” he started, and Jon felt his heart speed up. He held his breath, for fear any noise would break this moment…

But then Damian’s face scrunched up and he looked to the side with furrowed eyebrows, his hands fisting Jon’s t-shirt. 

Jon felt like cooing. But didn’t. He nuzzled Damian’s cheek with his nose, until the other huffed again and slumped back down against his chest.

They stayed like that for a while, until Damian turned to lay on his back, his head resting on Jon’s shoulder. They stared at the passing clouds, Damian lightly tracing shapes on Jon’s belly, and Jon caressing his hair. 

All in all, this was a pretty perfect birthday already, Jon thought. 

Damian had almost fallen asleep against Jon, with a purpling sky as their only witness and the wind gently ruffling his hair, when he felt Jon’s breath hitch, and in a second his world was tilted upside down, as Jon sat bolt up right, dragging the other boy together with him. 

He turned his head left and right like a hound on a scent, and then turned to Damian, his eyes sparkling.

“Is that…”

“Yeah, I told them the surprise wasn’t going to work with you…” Damian mumbled scrunching his nose “we tried”

“So it’s really…? REALLY?” Jon asked jumping to his feet, again lifting Damian up like a rag doll “but…the league mission? Was that a lie?” 

“Not really… they just tried really hard to finish it as soon as possible…and apparently they succeeded, since they told Kathy this morning they were going to make it”

“Mom too? I can heat her heartbeat getting closer as well!!” 

“So much for the surprise…” Damian mumbled again, but Jon hugged him tight “Are you kidding me??? This is the best! Where? How??”

“back to camp. Let’s just go and you can ask them, ok?” Damian huffed, and after looking left and right he circled his arms around Jon’s neck “you lead the way, birthday boy”.

They landed in the woods surrounding their little camp and as they walked into the clearing Jon took off running. Damian didn’t even had the time to text “we’re here” that Jon had already thrown himself in his parents arms, much to the cheering of the small crowd surrounding them. 

The happy family was whispering and half crying half smiling, lost in their own happy world, so Damian and all the time to join the rest of the party, coming all the way up to another pair of familiar strong arms waiting for him. 

“It’s good to see you son” his father said quietly, a fond smile gracing his lips. Damian had troubles believing his father would actually make it, with all of his duties and his devotion to his mission, but there he was, dressed more casually than he had in years, a black polo and shorts AND SANDALS. Those were real sandals. 

Outrageous. 

“Hey pipe-squeak!” Another familiar and way less welcome voice interjected, followed by hand ruffling his hair, too quick for Damian to dodge.

He turned in fury to be greeted by ALL five of his siblings, AND TITUS. 

The dog came barreling into him as soon as he called him, lapping at his face like he hadn’t seen his human in months. 

“It seemed evil not to bring him too” dick explained. He kept looking at us getting ready to fly here like a kicked puppy. So we brought him. Heck why not? I think the last time we all went to an informal dinner like this was…” Dick said, and then paused, eyebrows furrowing.

“The day of never?” Time concluded, holding his camera in his hands “which is why we should definitely record this. It will probably never happen again “come on, Waynes and co.! Get closer!” 

They all did, Bruce, Selina, Dick, Jason in the back and the other in front, some crouching.

“Someone is missing though” another interjected, grabbing the camera out of Tim’s hands.

“Ehy! Give it back!” He protested. 

“Nope. Go stand with your family, you nerd” Conner ordered, gently pushing his pouting boyfriend towards the group.

“But!”

“No buts. Go! You can take pictures for the rest of the night to your little stalker heart’s content, babe. GO” 

“fine. But don’t break it!” 

“ok”

“and make sure the settings are right!”

“OK”

“And be careful with he lenses foc—-”

“I SWEAR TO GOD TIM” 

It was in the moment when all of them burst out laughing as Dick and Jason grabbed each one arm of a struggling Tim that Conner snapped the picture.

“I can’t believe you are all here!” Jon said when he detached from his family pile long enough to see the rest of the party “I don’t know what to say…” he mumbled, blushing.

“Don’t talk then. Let’s make the food! Cause it seems bad to do so before the main man and I’m starving” said Conner, already eyeing the sizzling barbecue.

“This is perfect” Jon sighed after they had all found some way to help preparing dinner. There were two barbecue stations, one for meat and one for Damian (basically) which were being carefully guarded by the Batman himself, ready to bat glare any errant children -or dog- trying to sneakily steal something before it was perfectly done, aided by Superman, who kept restoring the coals with his bare hands. Selina and Lois were on cocktail duty, while Dick and Duke were cutting the bread for the sandwiches, and Cass, Kathy and Maya set the table and strung fairy lights all around.Conner’s duty seemed to be making sure Tim didn’t trip and broke his neck prancing around taking pictures. Jason was mixing salsas in a corner, with the air of someone doing some kind of super secret dark magic no one was allowed to know the secret of. He had a small figurine on the table near himself…which looked suspiciously like a Redhood action figure. 

For some reason his boyfriend had gone white when he spotted it, and had tried to stab Jason with his own salsas spoon. Jon was thankfully fast enough to prevent murder, while Damian’s brother had just laughed. 

“What? Remember him?” He had taunted “I brought him in honor of the last time we had burgers together. Good times. We got hanged a few hours after that. GOOD TIMES” he sighed dreamily.

Sometimes Jon worried about his boyfriend’s family. He really did. 

This night he decided to let it go, however. He was having too much fun. 

Someone had the terrible idea to put some music on. Probably Kathy. What she couldn’t have predicted however, was that the ongoing battle between Jon and Damian on who picked the song, was NOTHING compared to the one that ensued between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. 

“WE CAN’T LISTEN TO THAT, BRUCE, THE BOYS WILL FALL ASLEEP”

“DON’T JOKE WITH ME KENT, I’M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO COUNTRY”

“THSI ISN’T JUST COUNTRY, IT’S A MASTERPIECE OF TRADITIONAL AMERICAN MUSIC”

“IT’S GARBAGE” 

“ok, ok boys enough. None of you will pick the music, Lois and I will do it” Selina stopped them, with the look of someone reprimanding children.

“But-”

“No buts. Keep cooking. I’m starving” she kissed him. 

“Wow. I’m starting to wonder who the real head of the bat family is at the moment” Jon whispered as he assembled another burger and passed it to Jason the dark alchemist.

“Oh, shut up. They keep getting worse. She had him completely enthralled” he sighed, scratching Titus behind the ears.

“Sounds like someone I know” Jason commented with a smirk “mister I’m gonna built a fuck-MPFHGHR” He finished in a gurgle as Damian stuffed a plain bread bun into his opened mouth. 

“hey! COUGH Don’t waste food you gremlin!!!” 

“Then stop wasting air with your nonsense!” 

It was hard for a Kryptonian to feel full, but that evening Jon really struggled. Everything was delicious. The bread (there were 5 kinds of it) the vegetables, the veggie paddies he had chosen instead of meat following Damian’s example , were all extremely delicious. Not the usual store bought kind, but some kind of gourmet versions of it, most certainly bought by Mr Wayne, and Jason’s salsas? Jon was afraid to ask WHAT was in them, but they were incredible. One of them was this kind of virulent green Mr Wayne kept glaring at like it had offended him personally. Jason seemed to be particularly fond of that one. 

“What has that salsa done to your father?” He ask whispering to Damian. His boy turned to look at what he was pointing at and he rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Don’t mind that. What you should focus on is helping me trying to get back that toy” he whispered back, nodding toward the Redhood action figure standing proudly in the middle of the salsas tray.

“Why…?”

“Because it is MINE. Todd stole it! It was in my happy bat-meal!”

“your… Happy bat-meal…”

“Yes. MINE”

“I didn’t know you were so fond of the Redhood”

“I’m not. I hate him. But it’s MINE”

Was it bad that he found this creepy possessive side of Damian adorable? 

Yeah, probably. 

“You don’t have to eat the veggie paddies, you know?” Damian said after Jon picked his third burger, reaching out for the green salsa, before being stopped by Damian’s father looking murderously down at him.

Jon smiled sheepishly and silently corrected his aim, plucking the red hot salsa instead. Mr Wayne glare melted off like snow in august and he turned back to talk to Selina on his right. 

Jon considered using super speed to switch the salsas again but in the end he decided against it. You can’t fool the Batman. He sighed, drenching his paddy with the red one.

“I know that. I like those paddies”

“But you don’t have to only eat those. I know you’re doing it because of me” Damian continued, his cheek reddening “I won’t force my life choices on you” he added, even quieter.

Jon smiled “I know. But…would you kiss me again after I hate a burger?” The hint of red on Damian’s face burst into full blown cherry “YOU… THAT’S WHY YOU’RE DOING IT?” He said way too loudly, catching the attention of everyone on their side of the table, including Mr Wayne, whose scary glance focused back on Jon again.

“Everything alright, son?” He asked Damian, for some reason still look straight at Jon.

“…Yes father. I was just… commenting on Jon’s salsa choice. That’s all” the robin lied trough his teeth. He was scarily good at it too. 

“What’s wrong with it?” The man asked smiling, looking down at Jon’s plate “Is Damian forcing you to go vegetarian, Jon? It’s your choice, you know? He has tried with everyone of us already… don’t let him bully you!” He said jokingly. 

“I’m not bullying him! He…” Damian started, only then realizing his mistake, as Jon knew he had very much not told anything about them to his father, or his sexual orientation, or anything of the sort. He hurried to come to his rescue. 

“Nah, mr Wayne… Damian isn’t forcing me! I think it’s a choice I’m gonna share with him… It’s good for the environment!” 

“Mpfh. If you’re sure! It’s a brave choice” 

“You’re going vegetarian, sweety?” His mother asked, successfully turning the conversation between the grown up between the pro and cons of vegetarianism. Jon sighed in relief and nudged Damian comfortingly, who nudged him back. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I got used to it being just us these days…”

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have yelled. I guess I lowered my guard as well”

Jon smiled sadly, and picked up Damian’s hand under the table, giving it a quick squeeze and letting it go “it’s fine. No one heard us. Take all the time you need. It’s fine if you’re not…you know”

Damian seemed to squirm a little, and then he fully turned toward Jon and shifted his eyes to the left, clearly signaling to the one man sitting in that direction. 

Jon didn’t even need to look up to know what Damian meant. He smiled reassuringly. 

“Yeah I know. He heard us. It’s fine. He won’t tell”

“But… you…told him? Them?”

“Not really. But I don’t feel like I need to, you know? I know they know and love me”

“yeah…” Damian turned back to face his plate, dragging his green fries around with his fingers. Jon was really tempted to steal one to finally try the green sauce, but was too afraid of getting the bat glare again. 

“He loves you too. They all do”

“…I know…but…”

“it’s fine. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere”

Damian’s mood finally lifted at that, and with a smirked he held out a green fry “There. I know you want it. To hell with the bat paranoia, this salsa is the best”

Jon felt again a cold pair of eyes drilling in the back of his neck as he reached for the much coveted fry, and as he swallowed he didn’t dare look back. 

He really couldn’t fathom why Damian’s father seemed to hate it so much. It was insanely good…

“Time for the cake!!!” Kathy announced after they had polished off every last burger and fry. One thing that could be said about a group of superheroes, is that they never lacked in appetite. Even Tim had eaten way more that Jon tough was possible for someone with such a trim waist. The guy must have some kind of superpower. Some dimensional pocket where he stored all the food. Otherwise it didn’t make sense. 

They quickly cleaned the table as Kathy and Maya produced some monster cake shaped like a circle, all sky blue with small clouds here and there made of whipped cream. In the middle there was a small Jonathan Kent, small cape, ripped jeans and all. It was ten years old him, a big smile on his face and his fist raised in the air. On the border there was shaky test made of glassa saying “up, up and…” followed by candles, going all the way around. Instead of just sticks, however, there were 8 couples of numbers, going from 11 all the way to 18 in all the colors of the rainbow. 

“It’s a bit crooked” Kathy said sheepishly, cause Maya and I only had a couple of hours to make it but I stand by the taste!” 

Jon could barely see them, his eyes were getting wetter and wetter. He waited until she deposited the cake on the table and then he tackled both girls to the ground in a fierce hug, tears finally coming in earnest. 

“it’s perfect! I love it! I love you! Thank you so much!!!”

The impact with the ground never came, as Jon realized a bit later, they were all floating three feet off the ground.

“Way to be rough with the ladies, little bro!” Conner laughed, gently righting them back on their feet “I want a hug too. You can tackle me to the ground all you want” 

Jon did just that, laughing. 

“Now, blow the candles. Try not to freeze it to death or blow it to the other ends of the earth” Damian teased him. 

“Wait! We have to take a picture! Stand all together!” Tim announced again.

“I want you in the picture as well!” Jon protested. 

Tim’s smile turned downwards “That again? That’s not how it works!” 

“Shut up and come here, babe. Come on!” 

“but…”

“TIM!” A dozen voices called in unison. 

“Man, it’s gonna be hard squeezing back in those tight costumes tomorrow” Dick lamented, stretching on the ground with his head on Jason’s lap. 

“I heard they stretch” Lois teased with a wink to Selina.

“That’s what you get for having a painted on suit, Dick” Duke teased.

“I like the freedom of it”

“If you put it like that, it sounds like you’d rather let everything hang loose” the Signal considered with a disgusted expression.

Dick seemed to consider it too for a second.

“That WOULD be very freeing”

“THAT, would have you arrested in three seconds flat”Damian pointed out “Not to mention I would disown you as a brother”.

“ah! A shooting star!” Tim exclaimed, pointing to the sky and almost hitting his boyfriend’s face in the process.

“What? Where?” Dick asked.

“It’s a shooting star, Dick, it’s gone”

“Awwww. I haven’t seen one in ages”

“You do realize you go it space on a regular basis, right, Richard?” 

“it’s not the same!”

“Well you wouldn’t have missed it if you all weren’t so distracted talking about you prancing around naked!”

“Hey! I wouldn’t look half bad!”  
“You would be arrested!” 

“Well, yeah!! And I would look great all the while”

“Can we please stop talking about Dick’s….well, you know!” Duke lamented.

“I thought it was more about his ass” Jason corrected. 

“You know Dami…I really love you but your family is weird…” Jon staged whispered from the darkness.

Damian sighed. “You have no idea…”

After a while, Bruce walked up to their small group with Clark and Selina in tow, and clearing his throat. 

They all turned towards them, the scene illuminated enough from the fairy lights left on around the abandoned table to see that he was holding a bottle and a bunch of calyces. 

“Is that alcohol?” Lois asked disapprovingly.

“IT CAN’T BE” Jon said, his voice screeching two octaves higher than usual “cause I’m eighteen, not 21, I CAN’T DRINK YET. AND NEITHER CAN DAMI OR KATHY OR MAYA OR CONNER OR TIM.OR CASS OR DUKE. YUP. NO CAN DO” he ranted on, before receiving a somehow bruising blow in the gut and a glare from his boyfriend. 

“…not that anyone asked…” he concluded, realizing the whole crowd was staring at him like he had started tap dancing in his Superboy costume right there and there. 

Kathy face palmed with a sonorous smack. 

“…right…” Bruce said, looking suspicious “This is indeed not alcoholic. Just grape sweet juice. Either way, I thought it was the right way to end this night. With a toast. Also…” he added, turning to Selina. 

“The whole family ins’t really here, since some of the girls are missing, but we realized it’s gonna be hard to get so many of you all together like this and…we have an announcement to make” he concluded with a smile, resting a hand on Selina’s back. 

“omg…” Jon heard Dick whisper, and he felt Damian’s hand found his, squeezing hard. 

Jon wasn’t sure what was going on, but he heard a couple dozen heart beats going off at the same time as all of the bats sat up straight, their eyes glued to the pair in front of them. Then he saw his mother clap her hands on her mouth and jump up to her feet, turning for some reason to his father, who just smiled and nodded.

“Aw, you knew already? There’s no keeping something private from you, is there?” Selina pouted with a smile, and his father scratched his neck in embarrassment.

“Sorry…it’s the heartbeats…” he whispered. Jon furrowed his brow as Damian’s breath came out short. He focused on Selina, as she seemed to brace herself to speak. 

Finally he heard it. He hadn’t before cause there had been so many new people suddenly show up, but once he realized what he was supposed to look for, he knew what it was. 

Two heartbeats, where there should only be one.

“I’m pregnant” Selina said, holding Bruce’s hand “there’s another baby bat on the way”

A bit of silence. 

And then the clearing exploded. 

Everyone rushed to hug them, exclaiming their congratulations and disbelief, making jokes (on Jason’s part) and holding back tears (on Dick’s part).

Everyone but Damian. 

He just stood there, clutching Jon’s arm in a death like vice, his nails digging deep in a way that would have drawn blood from a normal human.

Jon covered one of his hands with his, shaking it a bit, getting no response. 

“Dami…?” He said meekly.

He could have very well yelled it cause the attention of everyone was back on them again. 

“Dami…?” Dick echoed. 

“Damian?” Called Bruce. 

Damian kept standing there, eyes glazed, staring at Selina.

Her expression turned sad for a second and then she smiled at him fondly. 

She walked a few steps toward them until she was only a few feet away and then spoke, gently, but quite seriously. 

“I know this goes against everything we talked about. But I still stand to what I said. I’m not ready for this. I probably never will be…I’m a thief, not a mother. but… with your help…with the help of all of you…” she said, looking around with her bright green eyes “we can make it. And I’m sure they will be loved”

Damian’s face snapped up at that, and his eyes focused on Selina’s face.

“Yes…?” She asked with a meekness that was highly unusual for the proud Catwoman. 

Damian let go of Jon’s arm and walked the rest of the steps to her and his father. He extend his hand, hesitating just a bit before Selina took it, holding it close to her still flat stomach.

“Yes” he said in a whisper, and when both Bruce and Selina smiled brightly, Jon knew Damian was smiling too. 

The three of them hugged tightly, Damian between them, and then the flood broke. Dick started to sob, Tim followed, Jason huffed, Duke laughed and Cass went around giving away head pats and tight hugs, sparsely saying “there, there. It’s fine. Everything will be alright”

And it was. Alright. 

It would be. 

Everyone was going to do their damn best to make sure of it.

And when bad times would inevitable come again, Jon would be there for Damian, as Damian would be for him. 

END OF PARTTWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo...end of part two, uh? I foresee something like 5 more chapter and an epilogue and then I'll put an end to this :') Can you believe it? I can't XD I never finished a multi chapters long fic before. I promise I'll do my best to do so with this one.  
> Next chapter will start with a time skip. We'll see of how much. And there will be little Helena too!!! I couldn't resist, my hands are hitching to write cute Dami and baby Helena interactions. Dami will make a good brother, hopefully. Had any of you guessed what Damian was going to gift Jon? Lol he built it himself.  
> If some of the thing referred to with Jason, his salsas and the action figure doesn't make sense, that is canon, from Batman rebirth issue 16. If you haven't read it go do so cause it's glorious. I don't care about King's run, but he wrote some of the best robins' interactions...  
> (lol for Jon unable to do something against the rules and spouting everything even when he's not asked... totally not suspicious, Jonno...)


	18. Now that I'm seventeen, going on eighteen...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAAAAAT? A new chapter after only two days?? A MIRACLE. Don't get used to it XD  
> Basically I'm gonna get really busy from tomorrow until mid August so... I wanted to put something out before that? I'll try to post something before august too, but there's no guarantee...  
> Also this chapter is a bit short, take it as a small introduction to part three :)

PART THREE

“Spasibo” a small high pitch voice finally said. 

“Russian” Jason said with confidence “yesterday it was cantonese!”

“That’s Tim’s fault! I’ve seen him watch a Chinese movie with her!” 

“Hey! It’s good for her! We were cuddling! Also Jay shouldn’t talk! I’ve heard him talk to her in GREEK” 

“Greek is a noble ancient language”

“Yeah, but now she speak 5 or more difference languages all together and none of it makes any sense!” 

The group of bats looked down at the small creature in the middle of the carpet, surrounded by a vast assortment of toys, most of which were either bat or cat shaped, testament of an ongoing parental battle. 

A pair of innocent green eyes looked back up at them, and a pair of dimples appeared, coupled with a smile made of a total of six teeth.

“Su!” She said imperiously toward the older bat in the room.

“That sounds like Italian” Tim muttered, writing something down on his tablet “I’m sure it makes some kind of sense. It has to. Children her age should…”

“Oh, shut it!” Dick said picking her up “All children learn speech at different times. And Helena is perfectly fine as she is. Right baby girl? Here, give me a big kiss” 

She did, together with a trail of saliva that made Tim shudder. 

“But-” he started, only to be shut up by a finger on his lips by Dick. 

“Here, say with me ‘Uncle Dick’! Can you say ‘Uncle Dick’ for me, baby princess?” Dick said, with an idiotic high pitched voice that earned a huff from the only person in the room standing away from the circle, currently reading a book on an arm chair by the window. 

“Hey, that’s not fair, Dick! She hasn’t even said mum or dad yet, why should your name be the first one she says?”

“PATA!” The squirming toddler screeched, pulling at Dick’s nose. 

“That’s… THAT’S SPANISH. WHO IS THE IDIOT WHO ADDED SPANISH TO THE MIX?” Tim protested, furiously scribbling again on his tablet and raking his hand trough his hair.

Suddenly the scene was broken by the sound of a book violently snapping shut and someone releasing a prolonged, hard suffering sigh. 

“What it sounds like to me, Timothy, is just a bunch of gibberish. She is a toddler. She speaks _gibberish._ Stop pestering her!” The owner of said book said, standing up and stalking over. 

“Here, habiba. Leave these peasants and come with me. They are probably stunting your intellectual growth with every word they speak!” 

“Damian! You can’t add arabic too! It’s too much, she will never learn English at this pace!”

Damian Wayne turned toward his acquired brother with a frosty glare. 

“I’m gonna call my baby sister however I like. Helena likes it. Right habiba?” 

The baby girl nuzzled her cloud of fluffy curly black hair in the side of his neck, giggling and grabbing his shirt in return. 

As far as Damian was concerned, that settled it. 

“We are going to eat something” he announced, and left the room leaving all of their brothers pouting behind. 

As soon as they were alone in the big kitchen Damian sighed, adjusting the toddler on his hips. 

At two and a half years Helena was still a small child, so carrying her around was still pretty easy. She did have the unfortunately habit to grab anything in her proximity however, so Damian had to be pretty careful around knives and poking objects. She seemed to be fascinated with forks especially. Damian approved. It was a good weapon to stab unwanted suitors with. As he would make sure to teach her, as soon she got old enough for the pests to start lining up in front of her. 

“What should we eat, Lena? What would you like?” 

She answered with something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Peach’ in cantonese. Damian shook himself. Tim and his weird theories were rubbing off on him. 

“Peach smoothie it is then” he conceded, none the less. 

Yes, he should put the girl in her high chair while he prepared food, but he didn’t want to. So sue him. His time with her was getting shorter and shorter lately, with school starting up again and all, and he wanted to have her warm weight in his arms for as long as possible. Gods know it was no easy fit with a house full of overbearing siblings always fighting over who got to hold the baby bat. 

She was spoiled alright. 

As was her due. 

Greek yogurt, honey, fresh peaches, fresh mint and he was ready to mix. Helena giggled at the noise of the mixer, clapping her hand in delight. 

He smiled at her antics and poured the concoction in their cups, the robin one for him, and the costume made black kitty unicorn one with bat wings for her. 

She frowned her big and expressive eyebrows at him when he presented it to her. 

For a second he had no idea what she wanted, but a chubby finger pointing in no uncertain way to the higher cabinet made her point pretty clear. 

“aaah, right. But don’t tell this to anybody” he whispered conspiratorially to her, grabbing the chocolates chips container “it will be our secret. Or the others will think I’ve gone soft”.

As if they had any doubt left. 

He loved his sister. Or maybe love wasn’t the right word. 

He adored her. 

Well, everyone in their family did. She had won ever the hardest, most cynical hearts in the bat colony. 

But for Damian… her presence…soothed him. It was like an aching, missing part of him had never been filled until he had laid eyes on her wrinkled red face, the day she was born. 

Family. The missing link that made his family finally whole. 

He’d do anything for her.

…up to a point.

“No, Helena! No! Don’t give the smoothie to the cat! No! It’s bad for him!”

She completely ignored him, keeping on spooning the orange mess directly on the floor, where a tiny orange kitten was contentedly lapping it up. 

“NO! MARMALADE! NO” 

He rushed to deposit the laughing menace on her high chair to clean the mess and shooing away the kitty. 

Helena just scooped mess again on the floor from her chair. 

Damian growled.  
“No! The…- he sighed, looking left and right as if expecting his brothers to be hiding behind the fridge or something “The…frullato…et…verboten per le chat! oh, SHI- give me that!” He ordered at the end, snatching the cup and spoon away, feeling the kind of stupid only a girl of two could make you feel like. 

Both the girl and the cat made a disgruntled noise, which he promptly ignored. 

He proceeded to feed Helena the rest of the smoothie, with only minimal damage. He gave her a cookie to keep her occupied after, cleaned up, and then finally did what he had carefully been avoiding for the whole day.

He checked his messages. 

Still no response from Jon.

He sighed again. 

It had been what, a day? More? He wasn’t counting the hours. No sir.

Not yet…

Tiny pin pricks of pain traveled up his leg and he looked down to find the red fur ball proudly scaling up his pants. 

Damian smiled fondly and picked him up. 

Marmalade was kind of a new addition. 

It was a gift Jon had given him 4 months before for their third anniversary.

The cat was as friendly -and clingly - as the kryptonian who had given it to him. 

The same kryptonian that wasn’t returning any of Damian’s calls or messages. 

Damian sighed again. 

And then got hit in the head by something. 

Something that turned out to be a shoe, apparently. 

He stared flatly at his sister.

“…really? I mean, good aim. But what, I wasn’t giving you enough attention? You little monster!” He exclaimed, lifting her up in the air and twirling around, to her utter delight. 

Later, as the sky was darkening and he had retreated to the sanctity of his room with only Titus, Alfie (the cat) and Marmalade for company, he picked up his phone again. 

He shook his head after a while and picked up his personal com link, the copy of the one he had gifted to Jon on his eighteenth birthday. 

He pushed the button to record and leave a voice message, knowing fully well that it was cheating, cause Jon would never ignore a message given trough their com. 

“Hey, habibi…it’s me. Well, of course it’s me. Damn it” he released the button and deleted the message. 

“I’m sorry, Jon, please-” deleted it again. 

He exhaled deeply.

“I love you Jon, please, let’s not fight anymore. We’re both better than this, talk to me…?” 

And hit sent, collapsing on the bed. 

It had been a stupid fight. For stupid, non important reasons. 

Jon was stressed for the oncoming finals at college, he was stressed about starting his senior year in high school, and for _another reason,_ but Jon couldn’t be blamed for that. 

Cause Damian hadn’t talked to him about it. 

He had been letting it simmer deep down until the frustration had come out bursting in Jon’s face at the worst possible moment. 

Just typical. His therapist was going to have a field day on their next appointment.

“Just talk to him about it” she had said to him countless time. 

Smart woman, his therapist. 

Damian, on the other hand…

Suddenly he couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped up and away from the bed. Enough with the self-loathing, he’s go train and clear his head. Maybe he could even succeed in dragging Timothy down to fight him. 

It sounded like a plan. 

It was only when he stumbled back into his room after patrolling at 2 a.m. (his father’s rule for a school night) that he got Jon’s answer. 

Well, more than an answer, since he found Jon himself, sitting on his bed, petting Marmalade sleeping cozily on his lap.

For a second he just stood in the threshold of his door, looking at the peaceful scene. 

Then he heard someone else stumble up the stairs and quickly got in, closing the door and locking it. 

Damian had a lot of questions spinning around in his head. 

_‘am I forgiven? Why did you took so long? Do you hate me know? Do you know how much I missed you?… Are we ok?’_

He didn’t utter a single word, however. Then Jon smiled. A full, bright smile and Damian just took off. 

Jon had barely the time to deposit the red kitten on the bed, much to its displeasure, before he got a lap full of Robin, grabbing at his cape, pulling him in and kissing him like a man starved. 

Damian knew he was being pushy, that they hadn’t even made up yet, but he had MISSED HIM. So much that it physically hurt. 

He moved his hands up to tangle in Jon’s messy curly hair, feeling its softness, and pulled at it, earning a growl from Jon that gave him even more urgency. 

More. MORE. He wanted so much more. 

He caressed with his thumb behind Jon’s ear, making Jon sigh into the kiss, and move his hands down Damian’s sides to come and rest on his hips. Damian wanted to move them lower, so bad. He wanted to rut up, into Jon’s warmth, wanted to explore his heated skin with his hands, taste every inch of his body and… 

He licked inside Jon’s mouth, nipped at his bottom lip, only to then dip back inside, in an entrancing dance they had gone trough so many times at this point. So many times had they kissed in the past three years Damian barely remember what it felt like not to be kissing Jon, to be _afraid_ of it. To be afraid of giving all of himself to Jon. 

What had that been like? Damian didn’t know. He didn’t care. 

At almost eighteen years of ages, Damian _wanted._

He wanted it all. 

And yet. 

Like every time in this past three years, when things got heated the most, at the moment when Damian had learned to let himself go and fall into the motions completely, Jon would -every single time- pull back.

Just like he was doing at that very moment, much to Damian’s disappointment. 

_“Talk to him about it”_ the voice of his insistent therapist repeated over and over. 

But like he had done so many times in the past three years, Damian didn’t. 

It wasn’t the right moment. It never was. 

_“there is no right moment. You are just scared of the answer and so you keep running from it”_ the annoying Jiminy cricket of a therapist continued. And she was right. 

Gods, she always had the terrible ability to hit the nail right on the head. 

Damian was terrified. 

And so he kept silent, just nuzzling into Jon’s turned cheek, receiving a bruising hug in return. 

Jon nuzzled his neck back Inhaling his scent.

“I missed you Dami. I’m sorry”

Damian shook his head. 

“I’m the one that should apologize. I…misspoke”.

Jon laughed and then winced. 

“Sorry. People is still up and about right? I should be quiet…”

“No, it’s fine. My room is far away from the others’. And everyone was pretty beat up. They won’t hear you”

Jon drew back to look at him worriedly “Are you hurt?”

Damian rolled his eyes. “No, you worrywart. No one is. I just meant they are tired”

Nonetheless Jon got that focused look on his face that meant he was using his x-ray vision, scanning him up and down to make sure he wasn’t lying. 

Damian shouldn’t find that as hot as he did. 

Satisfied, Jon smiled up at him again. “Well, at least we know that the updates you did to this” he said, cheerfully pointing at the silver com at his wrist “are effective. Since my coming here didn’t raise any alarm”.

Not that Damian needed the proof. His father had updated all of the security protocols in the manor -as he did every other month like a maniac ever since getting Helena- and so Damian had to update periodically the system in Jon’s bracelet that let him get in and out of Gotham and the manor as he pleased without his father getting into a fit because of it. 

That was another sour point between them. 

Well, Jon had never actually berated him for it, but Damian knew he chaffed at the secrecy. 

Cause Damian, even after three years, was yet to come out to his father. 

His brothers…he had the feeling that they knew. Even tough Damian had never talked to them about his and Jon’s relationship. But it was obvious they knew, some of it. At least he hoped so. 

His father however… either he was being obtuse on purpose, or he really didn’t know. 

In his defense, Helena had kept all of them particularly busy. And also Damian had worked harder than the devil to make sure he wouldn't notice. 

He wanted to tell him. He just had to find the right moment. 

And on that he shut his therapist’s echoing voice up before she even started. 

His coming out, his terms. 

“Well..I’ll let you sleep. You have class tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah…” he didn’t want Jon to go, however. 

“Stay…?”

“Dami…”

“Just for a while!” 

Jon seemed to resist for a moment, but then caved in, like he always did. 

Another win for the Damian team. 

“Wait a sec!” He said, running to the bathroom to change as quickly as possible. 

If his father was to know, after all, this would have to go. It was a pretty strict rule with Tim and Conner after all: no sleeping or ‘canoodling’ in the manor. Heck, his father had stopped giving Conner the evil eye only a year ago. And while it had been pretty funny to see his brother getting repeatedly cockblocked by their father, Damian wasn’t keen on having to go trough that himself. Tim and Conner had their own apartment now after all. Damian didn’t. And he wasn’t going to give up sleeping with Jon any time he felt like it. Nope. 

He ran back into the room wearing his most comfy -and short- shorts and a tank top that he knew complemented him pretty well. 

So what? He liked to look good.

Jon was sitting on the head board, his uniform still on.

Damian pouted.

“I can’t stay for too long… I promised dad I would help him with that rouge we were following before I received your message…I kind of bailed on him”

Well, fine. But he was gonna make best of their remaining time then. 

“Fine. But you stay until I fall asleep” 

“Scout honor, I will” Jon smiled, hugging him close. 

A pointed meow signaled them that Marmalade the cat wanted to be included in the cuddly pile as well. 

Jon scooped him up. 

“There you go little guy” he said sweetly depositing him in the cradle of Damian’s arms.

Only later to be hissed at by Alfie.

“he still doesn’t like him much, uh?” He asked, surprised. 

“naaah, Alfie loves him. He just has a weird way of demonstrating it”

Jon nodded unconvinced, watching the prissy black cat take a swipe at the small red one. 

“if you say so”.

At the end, they each settled on a different side of their human, Titus happily laid by Damian’s feet. It was getting kind of hard to fit everyone in Damian’s be, since he had finally, at 17, started hitting his growth spurt. Now he towered at the height of 5 feet 11’’… 

…Against Jon’s 6ft2’’.

Damian tried to resist sleep for as long as he could, to keep Jon there as long as possible. 

But between the synchronized purring sounds of the two cats, Titus snoring, Jon lightly caressing his hair and the weariness of the long day…it was a lot battle. 

Soon he was falling into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

As soon as Jon felt Damian’s heart rate decelerate and his breathing getting more even, he braced himself to leave. 

He floated gently off the bed so not to jostle the sleeping boy and once he was standing over the bed, he took his time to observe the precious scene below him. 

His hands were itching to tuck him in, to caress his cheek, to move the over grown quiff covering his right eye. He did none of those things, however, knowing how light of a sleeper his boyfriend was. 

He sighed imperceptibly, attracting the attention of Marmalade who gave him a plaintiff, feeble ‘meow?’

He shushed him and flew off trough the window, closing it gently behind himself. 

As soon as he was out of the manor property he took off at full speed, higher and higher, until the air got rarer and the city lights of Gotham a blurry, distant shiny field. 

He liked to come there to think, his problems seemed small from up high. 

The earth seemed distant and remote like the twinkling town in a snow globe, billions of lives held inside a glass dome. 

And yet, between those billions of people, there was one whose heartbeat Jon could locate in seconds. 

It was always with him, speaking of that boy he was unable to live without by now. 

And it terrorized him. 

Damian was like the earth. Seemed so big, immense, eternal from up close, but seen from the outside he was… defenseless and … 

breakable. 

It would take a second, a snap of a hand, a hug given too strongly and Damian would be no more. 

Jon was in control of his strength, of course, but what if he wasn’t? What if he was to loose that control? How did his father do it? Maybe since he was a full kryptonian he could rest assure he would never loose his control. 

But Jon? What if, after all, there was something wrong with him? Cause lately, the bolder Damian got, the more he felt like he was just a second away from loosing himself. 

He wanted it. He wanted it so badly…to get lost in Damian’s plaint arms, in his warmth, wanted to taste, to feel, to worship and adore… 

But…

He sighed again, feeling the already thin air get all sucked up in his lunged and released in a shower of ice crystals. 

He should probably talk with his father. Try to figure this all out, try to find a way to give Damian what he obviously wanted, _what Jon himself wanted_ in a safe, secure way.

He should…and yet…

“Jon?” A voice called from behind him. 

Of course. Superman was alway there when you needed him, right? 

“Is everything alright? I was waiting for you, then I saw you here and… I can go, if you wanted to be alone?”

“No, dad, I’m fine”

“Did you…fixed things with Damian…?” His dad asked tentatively. 

Jon felt a surge fo affection for him and showed him just that by tackling him in a full speed hug.

“Yeah. We’re fine” 

“Oh. That’s good, I’m glad” Clark answered, lightly spinning them in circles.

His father, unlike Damian’s, knew everything. Jon had told them soon after his eighteenth birthday. They had already figured it out by themselves by then. And yet, against all of their principles, his parents had kept it a secret from everybody, respecting Jon’s request to abide by Damian’s wishes. 

His parents were the best. 

“Let’s go? Let’s wrap this up and then go buy some breakfast for mum as well. I’m starving!” He said with a smile.

Going to school on Monday mornings was probably some supervillain plan designed to make young people want to off themselves. 

Damian hated them with a passion. 

As he slowly trudged out of Tim’s car, absentmindedly telling him goodbye, he contemplated how much he wanted to just turn back and climb back into his bed, or even better, get to Metropolis and climb into Jon’s one. 

That sounded like a solid plan. Now if only he could find a way to-

“Earth to Damian Wayne? How late exactly did you go to sleep last night?” A sweet voice behind him inquired.

He turned to find the only bright light in the halls of nightmare that was Gotham Central high school. 

“Hi!” Said Colin Wilkes with his omnipresent cheerful smile. 

Colin had moved into his school in the middle of second year, and Damian…had been drawn to him almost immediately. When they first talked, it had felt like they had know each others for a long time and they just…clicked. 

They had been friends ever since. Sometimes he even felt like he had memories with Colin of things that didn’t actually happened, or he had the feeling that Colin knew more than he let out. He felt however, against his better judgement, that he could trust the boy. 

He hadn’t told him anything about the mission or his secret identity but… sometimes he felt like Colin just _knew._

He had never asked him, of course, cause that would be suspicious as hell.  
All in all, Colin Wilkes was a mystery.

“Hi” Damian answered after a bit.

“So” Colin continued, falling into step with him “rough night?”

“rough life” Damian answered “And yourleft shoe lace is untied” 

“I know” he answered, doing absolutely nothing to fix it. 

Damian let out a big exasperated sigh, grabbed him by the arm to make him stop, crouched down and did the shoe lace himself “you’re going to brain yourself on the stairs like this”

“Awwww, how cute you two are” another voice interjected, this time a really saccharine and unwelcome one, that grated on Damian’s nerve like bright pink nails on a chalkboard. “Don’t you two make just the _cutest_ couple”

Damian refrained from answering with something extremely rude, getting back on his feet and dragging Colin away before Romina Hills could utter another pathetic word. 

Ever since he flat out refused her for Junior prom last year she’d been on his case with single focus intensity. Something idiotic like “if you refuse me, then you must be gay” which wasn’t exactly wrong, even tough he would have refused her anyway, and “since I’m sure you’re gay and you’re always hanging out with the weird geek, then you and the weird geek are dating”. Spoiled simplistic rich girl logic, basically. 

Not that it bothered either of them. He didn’t care what people think, and to be honest, if his heart, his mind and his complete being didn’t utterly belong to Jon, he could see himself date Colin. He was sweet, kind and adorable. 

“Speaking of couples” Colin started once they where far enough from the ‘perfect beauty’ menace “did you patched things up with Jon?”

Another thing about Colin, he was the one person Damian turned to in order to lament every time something went wrong with Jon. Poor Colin. He should make him a statue really. Or buy him a Ferrari.

He gave his red head friend a half smile “yeah…we’re good”

Colin narrowed his green eyes at him, like he did every time he was about to call him on his bullshit “mmmh…and did you talk to him about…you know”

Damian turned bright red “Colin!” He whispered screamed looking around “you can’t just bring that up in the middle of the school hall!!”

“Eh? Why? It’s not like I just screamed ‘did you said to your gay boyfriend if he wants to bone you or not?’ now, did I?”

Damian facepalmed, and then thought better of it and used that same hand to slap Colin behind the head. 

“I’m gonna kill you”

“No, you won’t”

“I hate you!” 

“No, you don’t. So? Did you?”

Damian glared at him some more, and then slumped his shoulders in defeat and turned to look at the too colorful main hallway of their school, waiting for the girl volleyball team to run past them. 

“No…” he sighed “It wasn’t the right moment”

“It’s never the right moment, is it”

“I can’t just jump him with it right after we made up!” 

“Why not? You’ve been together for three years! He must have a good reason for it! Or maybe he wants to, but he’s just shy!”

Thinking of Jon as ‘shy’ made Damian snort. Jon wasn’t shy. Not in the slightest. He was obnoxious and way too blunt and honest for shyness. 

“I just couldn’t ok? I… it wasn’t the right moment”

“Ok, ok, fine. I could talk to him instead, you know? I wouldn’t mind”

The idea of Colin running up to Jon and flat out asking why he seemed to not want to have sex with Damian was…nightmarish. Especially because he knew Colin well enough by now to know that he totally would do just that. Jon and Colin had never really met. Jon didn’t come to his school, of course, since his identity hasn’t really been a secret ever since his father revealed his own to the world. And Damian met with Colin outside of school only when Jon was busy doing something else. Jon knew of him, obviously, but they never really met face to face. Also…somehow Damian had never been particular anxious to see them mix.

“Hell no. Thank you, but NO”

“Well, then you do it. I can’t stand to see you pout every second of the day, pining for your boyfriend. I’s ridiculous!”

“I don’t pout! Also, your obsession for the happenings of my romantic life is frankly disturbing”

“Well, what can I say. My life is soooo boring, while yours is my favorite reality show. Better than the Kardashians!” He grinned.

Damian wanted to bang his head against his locker.

“You have no idea…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Colin makes his entrance!!! Had anyone guessed one of the two new characters was going to be him? I have plans for him! uuhuhhuhuhuhuhhuhu  
> In case anyone recognized the start of the chapter... it's inspired by the start of a book from my absolute favorite novel series. It's a pretty obscure one, so I doubt anyone will recognize it. But if you do, I'm gonna love you forever.  
> Please send comments, theories, rants and everything, even just an emoticon makes my day :) They really do ^^ 💕


	19. Looming shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY

Saying that Gotham was giving her best tonight was an understatement. A storm the likes of which were usually unheard of, even in such a godforsaken city, was raging on the darkened streets, emptying them of all life. Except, of course, for the lowest of the scum. Normal tugs? They were all safely tucked in their rotten holes. But the kind of demons that would pull something like this? They thrived in hellish conditions, apparently. 

Damian had actually been ready to call it a night and skip patrol all together for a change, since he wasn’t really feeling at his best, and pretty much everyone but himself and Tim had been otherwise occupied. So when even Tim had claimed his willingness to catch up on sleep Damian was ready to crawl under his warm blankets when… they had picked up on a transmission. Of the worst kind. 

So that’s how Damian found himself uncomfortably crouched in a dark corner, with six trembling children clinging to every part of him they could grab for dear life. 

They spoke all kinds of languages, some didn’t speak at all. They were all staring with huge, unblinking eyes into the dense darkness in front of them, as if waiting with bated breaths for some monster to walk out of it to finally eat them. 

Damian was trying his best to reassure them, his arms spread as wide as possible to keep them all close, rubbing soothing circles on the back of those he could reach, and whispering sweet nothings to those he couldn’t, like he did during bad stormy nights when Helena would not stop crying. 

Inside, however, all he could do was curse himself. 

Him and Tim had split up once they had reached the docks. The transmission had talked about a scheduled exchange of  _ human goods,  _ but they weren’t sure of who and where it would concern. 

As suspicious as it was, this kind of thing was getting more frequent lately...strange non traceable transmissions leading them to heinous crimes, the kind even Gotham didn’t usually see too often. His father was getting paranoid about it, and had strongly forbidden them to follow any of them up without some serious back up, but both him and Tim had agreed they couldn’t ignore this one. Not when there were human lives on the line. 

Plus Damian had back up. Hopefully on the way. 

As soon as he had spotted the children, he had called Jon. He knew he was probably busy with his own city, since his father and brother were both busy with the same mission that was currently occupying his own father and older brother, but he also knew that Jon would want him to call. Now he just had to wait. 

It wasn’t his style, sure, but if he had felt off earlier while warm and dry in the manor, right now, after being thoroughly drenched and feeling cold to the bone, he was feeling awful. 

A booming noise and a sudden flash of light made him jump, and was followed by a chorus of high pitched whimpers while warm small bodies crowded impossibly closer. Damian felt his blood boil. His mother would say he had gone soft, but while he had never liked seeing innocents suffer, the sight of crying children had become impossible to stand after Helena. He could see her in all of their faces, his body shuddering at the thought of something like this ever happening to her. 

A small hand started tugging insistently at the side of his cape, making him turn to look at the small girl responsible. She was pointing to the wall of black in front of them.

The darkness was molding into a sea of shapes that looked like nothing friendly. 

“Found you….” Said a creepy voice way too close for his comfort. Where was Tim? He was supposed to clear the way. Was he...no. The enemies must have split. He could hear the sound of fighting in the distance getting closer. Tim was coming and so was Jon. He only had to hold forth for a while longer. 

He stood up, his vision swaying a little. This was bad. He wanted to kick himself for not caring about his health properly. All these children behind him could end paying for his carelessness. He unsheathed the sword he had thankfully took with him that night, and stepped towards the enemy, putting some much needed distance between them and the kids. 

"Stay behind me. It will be alright" he said, hoping they could understand at least the basic sentiment behind his words, if not their clear meaning. 

"Aw, little birdie...you shouldn't lie to them like this" said the same voice again, the man making no move to attack first. His tone was mocking, he was playing with him. Taunting him. This was again, not a good sign. These men weren't normal tugs. They were good. Trained. They were silent and fast like shadows. Not unlike… but no. This was not the league of assassins M.O…. 

"Who do you work for?" He asked.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know"

So he DID want to play. Fine. Damian would play. He didn't really have much strength to do anything else.

"You don't seem to be in any hurry to get back these kids you kidnapped" he casually commented.

"Who, those? Nah, you can keep them. We don't need them. What we want is  _ you _ " 

The man finally came close enough to be seen, while his companions stayed in the shadows, silent and unmoving like the darkness itself. He looked like nothing special. A normal middle aged man with receding hairline, caucasian, an uninteresting Joe. The only thing that didn't fit on his face were his eyes. Glassy, empty and unfocused, they filled Damian with icy dread. Magic. This looked like the work of magic. Some empty puppet whose strings were being pulled by somebody else. Or maybe some toxins? He didn't look jokerize, did he…

Suddenly the man lunged forward, attacking. Damian managed to avoid a direct blow, but his moves were off, sluggish. 

When the other silent shadows pitched in too and started attacking him from all sides, he knew he was done for. 

"Jon…" he murmured between huffs of breaths, in the effort of holding the cascade of blows away from the now crying children. Countless cuts were slashing through the skin of his legs, where his defense had failed. Again, he noticed through the pain, they weren't hits meant to kill, but to hurt, like a cat playing with its food before the final kill. 

He fell, his sword skittering away from him. His ears were ringing, he felt nauseous. The man's face stretched into an awful sneer.

"Now birdie…" he started, when the wall behind him exploded, in a pile of rubbles. He smiled, wanting for once to let Jon sweep down from the sky and solve the sticky situation. He was feeling too awful to care about pride. 

No red cape emerged from the smoke, however. And yet his enemies started to crumple to the floor like empty sacks. 

Not understanding what was going on, Damian backed away from the fight, finding his way back in front of the huddled children. From a distance he could see that there was a new black form darthing from one enemy to the other, single handedly defeating every single one like it was nothing. Damian had no idea of who it could be. Whoever it was, they were good, with a fighting style unlike any his family or allies used. It was quick, fluid, almost like they were riding invisible currents, dancing effortlessly around his enemies. When the only figure still standing in front of his mysterious savior was the man with the dead eyes, Damian stopped him with a shout. 

Surprisingly enough, the man listened to him, and stopped with his fist raised, poised to snap to its target. 

Damian stood up to his feet with some difficulties, and walked towards them. 

The man, held in his saviour grasp, was chuckling softly.

“what, little birdie? Wanna a goodbye kiss?” 

Damian fought hard to keep his mouth in a straight line and not let it pull into a disgusted frown. 

“Who do you work for?” He asked again, his gaze focused on the ugly sneering face of his enemy, while his entire focus was actually on the other man, impossibly still at his side.

“Did my mother send you?” he pushed, when the man didn’t do anything more than keep chuckling. 

“Nah… we are...something  _ other _ ” he said emphatically, and then suddenly a gurgle came out of his throat, and in a second, during which Damian could do nothing but watch in horror, his eyes lost focus and his head dropped back, lifeless.

“NO!” Damian screamed, snatching the sagging form from his companion’s arms and trying desperately to reanimate him.

“It’s useless. He’s dead” the man in black said quietly, speaking for the first time. 

He had a deep, slightly accented voice. 

A somehow familiar one. But Damian couldn’t focus on that, his ears were ringing, his knees hurt where he had dropped them to the ground, his arms burned in the effort of useless compressions, and his vision was swimming. He was losing control. A man had died on his watch. Someone was crying. The children! He turned suddenly, but a wave of dizziness hit him and he was about to meet the ground in a heap when two arms caught him.

He raised his head to finally focus on the face of the man standing in front of him. The half of his face visible above his mask was made of opale skin, long sleek black hair tied in a ponytail and thick eyebrows framing a pair of almond eyes darker than obsidian. 

"Easy there" the man said "they are fine, and he's dead, you can’t bring him back" he pointed out, not unkindly. 

“but…”

“it’s not your fault. It was magic. It was just a corpse dancing”

“...what…” Damian could barely process what the other was saying. Time and space around him seemed stretched, thick and suffocating, like he was trying to move through molasses. 

“You need rest” the man continued, his eyes focused on his with single minded intensity “I’ll take care of the rest” he said. 

Against his better judgment, Damian felt himself relax in his hold, every noise around him coming to a halt, the blessed silence lulling him to sleep.

“There you go, Damian Al Ghul. Help is on the way” were the last words he heard before finally falling into a deep, dreamless slumber. 

  
  


When he finally woke up, it was to gentle rays of sun warming his cheek. He glanced around through half-lidded eyes to see he was in his room at the manor. He furrowed his brows, trying to remember how he got there. Last thing he remembered was… his heart beat spiked in panic as he remembered about the children, but before he could voice his panic, a warm hand was already grasping his flailing one, while another stroked his cheek. 

“It’s fine. You’re safe babe” Jon soft voice said in a near whisper.

Damian’s head whipped to the side, his breath still coming out short “the children-”

“are fine. All of them. When Tim and I got there we found all of you unconscious on the ground, unharmed”

“...what?” 

“You don’t remember what happened?” Jon asked seriously, his hand now carding through his bangs.

“I… wait, what about the men?”

“The men? Which men?” 

“...weren’t there men on the ground? Enemies? Ninjas? one of them dead?” Damian asked in confusion.

Jon’s eyebrows mimicked his in equal puzzlement.

“A dead man? Are you sure? There was no one but you and the six children there, D. And no sign of a struggle. How many men are we talking about? What happened?”

Damian just stared at him slacked jawed for a second.

“But…” for once his words were failing him. he didn’t know what to say, Jon was looking at him like he was crazy or something. 

When he was about to launch into an explanation Jon jerked slightly, dropping his hand like it was scaldwing him and putting some distance between them, with a sad apologetic smile. A few seconds after the door to his room swung open and in came his father, followed by Dick and Tim. 

As soon as they saw him awake, all three of them gave him a relieved smile, Dick practically throwing himself at him in a bruising hug.

“You scared us, kiddo! How are you feeling?” he asked against his hair, rocking him a bit.

“I would say I’m fine if it wasn’t for the fact you are suffocating me, Richard” he grumbled, receiving a chuckle for his effort. 

“What happened” his father asked seriously, after Tim had fussed around him for a bit measuring his temperature, blood pressure and eye coordination, deeming him well enough to talk. 

Sharing a look with Jon, he started to explain what had happened to him, from the point Tim and him had separated, feeling a bit reluctant to talk about the strange man that had saved him, for some illogical reason. It wasn’t that he wanted to keep secrets from his family, cause that was a thing of the past, but somehow the meeting had left him shaken and uncomfortable, like something about it should have lightened a sparkle of recognition that had instead failed to come to him. 

At the end of his story, four pairs of eyes were looking at him uneasily.

“Damian...what you are saying is impossible,” Tim told him finally. 

“What do you mean impossible? I remember it clearly! If you think I was under the influence of some toxin, I wasn’t, I-”

“I know you weren’t. We ran tests, your blood was clean but…” Tim seemed unsure on how to break it to him, and turned to look at Jon.

“D” Jon said gently, and Damian focused on him, finding his cornflowers eyes impossibly worried “I got there mere minutes after you called for me and I found you already passed out. A few seconds after, Tim got there too. Everything you said, you waiting in the dark with the children, the men attacking you, and then that other one blowing a wall and saving you… that can’t have happened. there wasn’t the time for it. And there was no blown wall of the warehouse either” he explained, very slowly, his voice raising slightly in volume as Damian started to shake his head. 

“But I saw it all! I know I did!” he replied, raising his voice himself, as Jon shook his own head “And they manage to land hits on me! I should have…” but then he focused on his body and realized that nothing hurt. He was unharmed.

“I know you believe it D...but it’s impossible” 

Damian turned to look from face to face, finding the same worry and disbelief.

“...this doesn’t make sense” he murmured in frustration, looking down at his lap. He knew what he saw. He felt it. It HAPPENED. That man. He was real. He knew him. He couldn’t remember him, but he knew him. He was real!

A big hand clutched his shoulder, shaking him out of his confusion. 

“I believe in what you said, son” his father said, and Damian looked up to find that Batman diamond resolve that had got them through much stickier situations in the past “Something dark is at play here. We just have to find out who, how and why. And we will. I promise”

Damian managed to give him a small smile and a nod. 

His father nodded back with a broader one “we are just missing some pieces. But we do have a starting point, however” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, whoever it was, they left us a little message this time”

“A message…?”

“Yes. A bloody claw mark, cut right through the floor, next to where we found you” 

  
  
  
  


Damian tossed and turned into his huge bed, the sheet pooling on the floor where he had kicked them long before. Titus, for as much as he loved his master, had long abandoned his favorite spot by his side, optioning to lay on the carpet by the dark fireplace, a black ball of fur laid on top of him, snoring softly. 

Jon observed the scene with bitterness growing inside of him, a sense of longing that wrenched at his heart and made breathing painful. Damian was in pain, he needed him and yet there he was, floating by his window, shrouded in darkness, observing him from afar. 

Jon couldn't explain exactly what was keeping him from rushin in, cradling his love in his arm, and kissing him senseless, until the demons and the pain hunting him were gone and forgotten. 

He wanted to, oh, how he wanted to. 

But he couldn't. 

He wouldn't.

Maybe it was the fact that Damian himself was keeping silent about it all. Where just weeks before he would have done anything to keep Jon in his bed, now he was ever distant, even when together, his gaze was elsewhere, looking somewhere far, far enough for Jon to be unable to reach him. 

A gasp and a jolt brought his eyes to focus back on the room, Damian had woken up, sitting bolt upright, his chest heaving. He watched as he turned on his bedside lamp, and extended a hand to check the time. Jon wanted to knock, make his presence known, he needed to touch, to feel Damian close. 

Damian was fidgeting with his phone, and then brought it to his face. Damian was calling someone. 

Jon's phone wasn't ringing. 

He heard the click of the line as someone that wasn't him answered the call. He flew away, not wanting to hear words that weren't meant for him.

  
  
  
  


"Ok, that's it. You are telling me what is going on, Wayne, or I swear to everything that is holy I will exert bodily harm on you"

Damian Wayne sighed for the tenth time. He knew that coming to school had been a mistake. He had seen his reflection in the mirror, the circles under his eyes so dark that they made his usually bronze complexion look dull and washed out. 

"I'd like to see you try"

"Are you doubting my ability to smack you in the face?"

"...yes?"

"Oooh, I see. Then maybe what I should do is go ask that boyfriend of yours why-"

"DON'T YOU DARE"

Colin Wilkes leveled an unimpressed stare at him. 

Damian sighed again. 

"Look. I'm fine. I'm just having trouble sleeping, that's all"

Colin maintained his stare unchanged.

"It's the truth!"

More staring.

"HONESTLY"

Colin made a noise that seemed to indicate he wanted to throw his lunch in the air in a childish fit of hysteria. Then he took a deep breath and turned his too kind grass green eyes towards him. 

He grabbed Damian's hands in his own warm ones, and gave him the kind of pleading expression he knew Damian couldn't resist to save his life. It was a great power he overused a bit too much for Damian’s liking. 

“Dami, you know you can tell me anything, right? ANYTHING? I know something is troubling you. More than usual. let me help? Please!” 

Damian turned away from those treacherous deep pools of mind control, and bit the inside of his cheek. Colin’s words echoed the ones Jon once told him, on their first real date. And it stung, especially since he hadn’t seen or heard from Jon in almost a week. 

And it was all his fault. 

He wanted to confide in Colin. So much. But he couldn’t.

“Don’t sigh again!” Colin stopped him a second before he was about to do just that. “My mom always says you let happiness escape when you do”

So Damian gave him an unconvinced half smile instead. 

“Colin…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever...wonder what your life could be like if you had taken just a few steps different than you did?”

Colin blinked.

“I’m afraid you have to be a bit more specific than this”

Damian winced. He didn’t know how to explain it even to himself, this fleeting sense of dread growing inside of him after each horrible dream.

“I mean… do you ever think how just a few different decisions in your life could have led you to a very different outcome? Maybe...to a really bad one…”

One thing he really liked about Colin is that he always took everything seriously. In this instance as well, he stopped to think for a few seconds before answering him, his thick eyebrows furrowing.

“Like… if I had crossed the street just one second before and let that big van run me over, kind of thing?”

“kind of. but less stupid”

“so...are you actually thinking about specific decisions in your life? What ifs?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, doesn’t everyone do that? Thinking of what could have been, maybe regretting some decisions, stuff like that? You shouldn’t duel on it too much though”

“I don’t regret them. Quite the contrary...I fear what could have been if I hadn’t taken those decisions”

Colin turned his head to the side, confusion obvious in the tilt of it.

“But if you took the right decisions, then why are you worrying about it so much? It’s in the past anyhow...you shouldn’t lose sleep over it”

“Yeah….you’re right” “

“I always am”

Damian wished he could believe him. Stop thinking about it. Congratulate himself on managing to not screw up his life irreparably and move on. 

But that night, like clockwork, the dreams came back to haunt him without fail. 

  
  
  


Like a twisted movie, the story picked up right where it had left off the night before. Once again he found himself trapped in a life he would never write for himself, a

nightmarish version of his persona that made him want to crawl out of his skin like a caterpillar stuck in a chrysalis that it hadn’t made, and that led to a monstrous transformation. 

He was younger, in those dreams. Lost. Alone. Angry. Surrounded but what seemed like a parody of a heroic team. A team that hated him, that watched his every step with contempt, ready to catch him at every wrong turn with a pointed finger. 

His family was lost to him, he was but a castaway, his own father’s back a black monolite, unreachable, like a remote and unforgiving god that looked his way only to see how far he had fallen and lay judgment. 

That night in particular hit him particularly hard. He watched Jon, his Jon, leave him to go into a far away future, uncaring of him, a blonde girl’s hands cradling his smiling face lit by warm sunlight. He was smiling, and in love, and not with him. 

He watched his counterpart cruelly hit Jason were it hurt, with all the callousness he used to sport as a ten years old, as if all the painful growing up he had done in the following years had been erased by some careless pen strokes, he watched, feeling like he wanted to scream but couldn’t, mute as in a grave, as Jason, betrayed and resentful left him broken on the ground, and when the girl came to rescue him, her small, wrong hands on his face, promising healing and feeling wrong, wrong WRONG, he wanted to claw his skin off, and he did, feeling the pain but unable to escape the horrible prison his mind had constructed. He saw her get closer, her warmth making him sick, and when he was about to kiss her, his voice came back to him. 

He screamed. 

And screamed

and screamed 

and…

“DAMIAN!” 

A voice called him, bringing him back.    
It was loud. And bright. Too bright. 

Someone was screaming. 

And then a sharp pain erupted in his jaw as his face was wrenched suddenly to the side and the screams stopped. 

His screams.

He opened his eyes, to find a frantic Jason staring in fear at him, his right hand still raised. 

“You...you slapped me” he croaked. 

“I...yeah…you were screaming and… I‘m sorry. Are you…”

“No. I...no. I’m not” 

“You want me to call Dick? Or B? They are out in the city but I can-”

“NO. No, just…” he clutched at Jason threadbare T-shirt, the images of his furious face peeking from behind his broken mask, the hate in his voice, the disgust---

He buried his face in his brothers’ neck, uncaring of the fact that he was almost as tall as him now, if not as broad, and hugged him tight. 

“Hey…” Jason said in his gentlest voice, but he hugged him back without further questions. 

“I’m sorry”

“No, hey, it’s fine. I was awake anyway. Selina just returned to take back watch duties for Lena.

Damian’s head jerked back in panic “Did I wake her?” 

But Jason let out a small laugh “Nah. You know her. Once she finally drops asleep nothing short of apocalypse can wake her.

Damian relaxed back against Jason, unwilling to let him go, the nightmare’s hold on him still too strong. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Jason asked after a while “I know I’m not the best at this kind of things, but I’m here. If you want me”

Damian shook his head. 

“Not yet”

“Then….up for some chocolate and a really bad movie?”

At that Damian raised his head with a conspiratorial smile. 

“Always”

  
  
  
  
  


Metropolis seemed to be taking a page out of Gotham's book, as a heavy rain was drenching the whole city since the early morning. Which didn't help Jon's mood any. He hadn't slept a wink the previous night. And while that usually meant nothing for him, since he didn't need as much sleep as a normal human, he felt nervous and jittery, ready to laser a hole through anything crossing him wrong (Metaphorically of course).

He had just come home from patrol when he had heard Damian screaming. It must have been 3am or something. He had felt his blood curdle and was half way to Gotham without a second thought when something had stopped him, frozen in midair above the interstate. 

Damian was in pain. He needed him. 

_ But did he really? Cause he sure as hell hadn't called for him to help.  _

That line of tought was stupid. It WAS. Jon knew. 

_ But then again… _

Was he really wasting time being, what? 

_ Jealous? _ OF WHO? 

_ Resentful? _ OF DAMIAN? NEVER. 

He was being pathetic. This needed to stop. 

Damian needed support. Jon had sworn to himself that he would never leave him to suffer alone again. 

_ And Damian had promised to always ask for help. To never keep secrets from Jon again. So why was he breaking his promise now? _

__

_ Who was on the phone with him the other night…? _

“AAARGH. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!” Jon screamed to the heavens, hoping, as an afterthought, there was no house of Kent members close enough to hear him scream at himself.

By the time he had stopped arguing with himself he knew that somebody else, one of Dami’s brothers, had already come to help. 

_ To be there for him. _

Like Jon hadn't been.

So yeah. Jon was already having a horrible day. And it was just 9.30 am.

He idly wondered how much worse it could get before lunch time. 

He needed to talk to someone about these thoughts he kept having. about his fears regarding Damian… this wasn’t like him. He wanted them to stop. He wanted to have the freedom to touch, to hold, to be there without fear of hurting. 

He should just talk with Damian himself. If he wasn’t being completely honest, then why should he expect Damian to be? 

He was vaguely aware of the fact that people were staring. For a second he wondered why, then he realized that he was completely soaked.

_ Ah, right. Normal humans usually carry umbrellas under the rain, do they.  _

He was pissed enough to not care much about pretense. he was too angry at himself to bother to hold the stupid stick up. he could just dry his clothes is seconds if he wanted to. 

_ Right, you can do that, you can fly, lift mountains, and yet are too much of a coward to talk to your damned boyfriend, who means the world to you. Superboy my ass. _

People were walking around him on campus like there was a magnetic force around him. 

Like they were scared.

Was the storm raging inside him so obvious that even the average people could read him so easily? Were they finally getting aware of how much of a danger he really was? Ever since his father had revealed his own identity, and thus Jon’s as well, people had known what he was , but they haven't treated him differently. Maybe it was because of his easily going attitude and his boyish smile, but he had never felt like people were SCARED of him. 

Today he did though. Today he was different. worlds apart. 

Alone. 

Completely. 

He kept his eyes on the ground while walking the last stretch of space that separated him from his next class. He really didn’t want to go, but he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts either. 

He saw the shoes invading his eyesight a second before it was too late. He stopped abruptly, managing somehow to not bump into the owner of said shoes. 

Black leather boots with tied up laces, completely drenched. 

They were close enough that their feet were touching, like the person in front of him wasn’t actually aware he was some kind of freak of nature, a bomb ready to explode, a danger to life. 

Jon’s eyes traveled up to see muscular legs, a very wet grey sweater with hand stuffed in the front pockets, a hood, pulled on a scowling face, two brilliant green eyes unblinking from behind dark round lenses, framed by very expressive eyebrows.

“you’re drenched” Damian said, his voice charged with quiet fury. 

“...I AM drenched…? I’m invulnerable! YOU on the other hand-”

“You’re an idiot”

“...Ok? Is this the ‘let’s cross states just to insult Jonathan Kent’ day I wasn’t awar-”

his sentence was broken off, as a brown hand grabbed the front of his dripping t-shirt to reel him in for a bruising kiss.

An another. 

And another. 

His super-senses were telling him that the people previously avoiding him were now staring. He could hear phone snapping pictures, furious whispers. 

_ “Isn’t that- yeah. it is! Who is the other one? IS HE GAY? Did you know? omg, omg, they are so cute! I’m gonna tweet this. EWWW, what the fuck. So now superboy is a f-”  _

They were all blurring around them in a vortex, the whispers, the rain, the beating of their hearts, and Jon didn’t give a damn. 

He kissed back. 

“You an idiot” Damian kept repeating between wet kisses, on every part of Jon’s face he could reach. 

“And you’re gonna catch your death” Jon answered, starting to laugh.

“I’ve already caught it” he hugged him tighter, burying his freezing face in Jon’s warm neck. 

“Your father will know. Everyone will” 

“I know. I don’t care. You’re mine”

“I am”

“Let’s get out of here”

“Allow me” 

Off they went, taking flight in the middle of Met U campus. 

“Let’s find somewhere warm”

  
  


Unknown to them, form the top of a skyscraper a dark form was observing them, their fists clenching tight. When the Superboy flew past them, their prize clutched strongly in their hands, the form dropped back into the darkness, afraid of being spotted. They were concerned enough trying to hide from the all seeing eyes of the super, boiling in their rage, that somehow sneaking up on them was almost easy. 

“Hi!” a deep voice behind them said, making them jump and brace themselves for an attack .

“We need to talk”.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo is anyone still reading this? I apologize 😔I started working again and time just flew past me. This whole year is going by in a blink!   
> Anyway. Everyone thank Nymph_Patt13 cause this chapter would not be out without her ❤️  
> A new character is here! And a mystery unfolds! What do you make of it :)?   
> and yes I am pissing on teen titans too now cause I HATE THAT BOOK WITH A PASSION AND EVERYTHING IT STANDS FOR. So I'm gonna fix it. Somehow.


	20. Two truths and one lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo at least this time you had to wait a bit less?  
> I had so much fun writing this chapter. So much fun.

Nightwing felt his beloved bike's engine roar beneath him as he pushed her to her limits. He was probably going to get more than one ticket going way over speed limits.

He didn't care. This was an emergency. No. Worse. This was a disaster. A bomb about to explode. He had to get there before Bruce left for work. He had to stop him before he saw. Before they made him see….he had to…

"Dammit kid. Couldn't you do things the normal way for once?" He swore under his breath as he passed another red light. 

He was gonna make Damian pay his tickets out of his own pocket. 

He loved the kid more than life itself, but GODS he liked to make life difficult for himself and everyone around him when he wanted to. 

The manor came in sight, regal at the top of its hill. It looked so peaceful. So quiet. Could he be able, FOR ONCE, to curb his family tendency to theatrics and avoid pending doom...? 

  
  
  


Bruce was having a quiet solitary morning. 

Selina had taken Helena for an early stroll, claiming they had some girl shopping time waiting for them. Dick was already out to his work at the gym, Jason was out on business with his team and Damian… he hadn't come home the night before. Which wasn't that unusual. He often spent the night with the Kents, or with some other friends from school. That Wilkes kid, usually. Bruce didn't mind. He loved the fact that Damian had friends. What was strange, however, was the fact that he had failed to notify him about it.

A slight twinge of nervousness ran down his spine, he would know if something had happened, right…?

With a frown he put down the newspaper he had been going through, and after pouring himself a cup of strong coffee he went in search of his phone. He was just going to send a message. Just to check.

  
  


Dick leapt out of his bike, his heart in his throat, fumbled with the keys dropped them, cursed so loudly he could hear Alfred chiding him from the great beyond, managed to wrench the door opened and rushed inside, breaking every Wayne family rule about leaving outside footwear, well, ON THE OUTSIDE (courtesy of the fact that without Alfred to clean after them, they had all finally learned how much of a pain keeping floors clean actually is).

He tore through the too long halls in the direction of the most lived in part of the mansion.

"Please be in the kitchen, please be in the kitchen" he repeated under his breath like a mantra. 

He flanged the door open, ready to throw on a smile and act like he wasn't about to spit his lungs out but…

It was empty, the coffee machine still steaming.

"Damn" and he took off running again. 

  
  


Bruce Wayne wasn't a tidy person. He was trying to work on it, for his family's sanity sake, but he wasn't quite there yet. Which is why it took him five tries before he actually located his phone, under Selina's side of the bed, for some unknown reason. 

As he straightened himself, ready to find Damian’s contact, he heard a motorbike coming through the gate. It sounded like Dick’s Yamaha. Confused and slightly worried there was something wrong with Dick, since he was supposed to be at work, he almost didn’t light up the screen of his phone. Almost. 

But his finger slipped.

He had 65 notifications and 15 missed calls, some of which from the WE PR team, for some reason. 

He sat back down on the bed. 

Among the chaos of messages, he found a link. 

He clicked. 

An article from a well known Metropolis gossip magazine.

On top of it was a picture. 

He stared at it for a few seconds unable to comprehend what he was looking at. 

Two people...two boys? Yes. Kissing. 

Two boys kissing. 

“What the…”

And then it clicked. 

It wasn’t just two boys kissing. 

The taller one was Jonathan Kent. 

And in fact the title of the article read: 

“SUPERBOY JONATHAN KENT PHOTOGRAPHED KISSING-”Bruce’s brain faintly registered heavy steps coming towards his room at full speed. He couldn’t care less. A full herd of ninja assassins could burst into his room at this moment and he wouldn’t as much as flinch.

He tapped on the photo to make it bigger. It had to be a mistake. But no. The other boy was unmistakably his son. 

His youngest son. 

His still very small, lithe built baby son. 

Kissing a very tall, very kryptonian Jonathan Kent. 

His door flung open, and with the corner of his eye he could see a very flustered Dick Grayson.

“Oh fuck” his oldest son said. 

Dick rarely swore. 

At least not in front of him.

But it seemed pretty poignant. 

  
  
  


Dick was late. If the extremely stiff and motionless form of his father crouched over his phone was any indication. 

He looked like something carved out of marble.

He winced, wanting very much to find his baby brother and strangle him. Just a bit. 

Why was it always him that had to fix his brother’s fucks up?

“Bruce…” he started uncertain, and grimaced when the man flinched, like someone had just slapped him. 

He raised his head, very slowly.

He looked at Dick. 

His face was completely blank. 

He blinked. 

“Oh, Dick, chum. What are you doing here? No work today?” 

_ Ooooook. What the fuck.  _

“I… are you ok, B?”

Bruce’s lip curved into a terrifying robotic smile.

“Of course. Why are you asking?”

“... eeermh...no reason”

Silence fell. 

Neither of them moved. 

“soooo” Dick started again, slowly moving inside the room, one step at a time. 

“What are you looking at…?”

Bruce blinked again, looked down, then stiffened up his muscles even more. 

“Oh, nothing. Seems like your brother made quite the headline” Bruce said, with a chuckle. 

A CHUCKLE. Dick started to feel queasy. 

“Ah...right. Yeah… mh. You know-”

“Did you know about this?” Bruce cut him off, the freak-like smile still in place. 

“...I… well. It’s not like Damian told me but”

“but you knew”

“...yes”

“How long”

Dick bit his cheek. Debating telling a lie, but otherwise deciding against it. Better to rip the metaphorical bandaid off. 

“...since that accident with Jon at Hamilton, I think? Or maybe since Jon’s eighteen birthday. As I said, Damian never spoke of it so it’s just...conjectures…”

Something on Bruce’s face spasmed.

“So almost three years, more or less”

“...yeah...but Bruce-”

Bruce stood up. Still smiling, even though his smile seemed to be melting off his plastic like expression like wax under the sun. 

“Where are you going?” he asked in a panic. 

He turned to Dick, patting him on the shoulder “to work, chum, where else? My PR team got their panties all twisted over this, got to calm them down, eheh” 

HE HE. 

Dick felt as if his stomach had been dropped in ice. 

This wasn’t Bruce speaking. 

This was Brucie. 

Gotham’s silly socialite who was just ready to laugh off his son’s antics like they were just an everyday occurrence. A fling. A folly of youth. 

The real Bruce Wayne? He was somewhere else. Dick was afraid to find out exactly where. 

  
  


He needed back up. And he needed it now. Before the proverbial shit really hit the batfan. 

  
  


Wayne children family chat 

12.25 AM

_ Goldilocks has excluded Babybird from the chat _

Goldilocks: guys we have a problem

Snowhite: you don't say

Foureyes: did you talk to Bruce? How is he?

Goldilocks: ASFDHAJKHG JAY CHANGE THE NAMES BACK TO NORMAL THIS IS SERIOUS

SuperiorRobin has entered the chat

SuperiorRobin:have you summoned me?

Goldilocks:CHANGE-THE-NAMES

SuperiorRobin: aw you are no fun

Goldilocks: NOW

SuperiorRobin: ugh. Fine.

Jason: here. Happy now? Who stuck a stick up your ass this time?

Timmy: you didn't see it? 

Jason: didn't see what?

Timmy: omg in which hell hole of the world are you to have been able to escape it? And can I come too? Here  https://www.metropolisgos…

_...Jason is typing _

Jason: HOLY FUXK

Jason: FRCK

Jason: FUUUUCK

_ Timmy has added Steph to the chat _

Steph: OMG DIS YOU SEE HOW CUTE THEY ARE??? I WANNA CRY T--------T AND HUG THEM AND-

_ Jason has excluded Steph from the chat _

Jason: FUUUUUUCKKKK

Babs: guys can you stop with the idiocy and answer my sensible question? Dick, have you talked with Bruce?

Jason: wait. Shouldn't we talk with baby bird? I don't know, slip him a condom or something?

Timmy: JASON

Jason: WHAT

Duke: and you were wondering why he doesn't talk to us about it…

Cass: where IS Dami?

Dick: ...good question. With Jon I assume

Jason: SEE? My idea wasn't so bad now, was it?

Timmy: guys, can we stop talking about condoms? Damian isn't a kid and he definitely isn't stupid. I'm pretty sure he has had a doctorate in medicine since he was seven or something. He doesn't need the TALK

Jason: yeah, no. We got the bat talk, HE GETS THE BAT TALK

Duke: He's 17, I'm pretty sure he got it already

Timmy: I doubt it? Bruce probably still refer to him as 'MY BABY' inside his head or something

Duke: despite the fact Damian stopped being one at like, 3 months old

Babs: GUYS. BACK TO THE POINT, PLEASE?

Dick: yeah right. We got a problem. Bruce knows. And by the way, I gave the talk to Damian when he was 14

Jason: that's because you are the boring responsible brother

Timmy: yeah, no shit. How did he take it? Bust out the kryptonite chastity belt yet? 

Duke: wait that was an actual thing??? I thought that was a joke?

Timmy: I wish T-T

Duke: what the fuck

Babs: DICK. I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL CHOKE YOU TO DEATH 

Jason: uuuh. Kinky

Duke: I am so glad I moved to a university out of state

Cass: but you are coming back for Christmas, right? 

Babs: DIIIIICK

Dick: yeah right. Sorry. Got distracted. Yeah, Bruce actually took it with a smile. He...giggled.

_ Jason, Timmy, Babs, Cass and Duke are typing…. _

Jason: WHAT THE FUCK

Timmy: OMG FIND DAMIAN

Babs: he needs an impromptu session with his therapist. NOW.

Cass: … joker gas…?

Duke: SO GLAD. SOOOOO GLAD. I AM IN ANOTHER STATE.

Dick: I mean…maybe we are taking it too seriously

Jason: AND I'M A BALLERINA WEARING A PINK TUTU

Timmy: DICK

Dick: but we went through this before! With you and kon! We thought he was gonna blow, but he took it well!

Timmy: HE BUILT A KRYPTONIAN CHASTITY BELT

Dick: it wasn't an actual BELT tho… just a panic button that released kryptonite gas! And a direct distress call to the cave and-

Duke: … I didn't want to know that. Why are we talking about that? Wait, did you ever use it??

Timmy: ...not on purpose. It kind of activated itself. Also I don't want to talk about it. I still have nightmares

Dick: well yes, but my point is, that except for being very protective, he didn't do much else, now, did he? 

Babs: maybe…

Timmy: yeah but that was me. This is DAMIAN we are talking about 

Dick: Tim, Bruce loves you just as much, you know that

Timmy: I DO KNOW THAT, DON'T START. But… he gets weird about Damian. Even more so now that he seems to be targeted by someone again. Just you watch.

Jason: yeah, about that. We might have found something. I was actually about to head back to the nest

Dick: really? Well good. We missed you

Babs: and we need all the help we can get. First of all, find Damian. Before Bruce does.

Jason: how hard can that be? He's with the big bad kryptonian bf! Just ask big blue

Dick: yeah...

  
  
  


The day before….

After leaving campus they flew aimlessly for a bit, Damian curled around Jon's back like a Koala.

Things had been tense between them for long enough that Jonathan relished the close contact, the trust he felt coming from the boy in his arms. 

He had missed it so much. 

Spotting a beautiful lake in the distance he touched down and they started walking on a pretty path among browning leaves, hand in hand as the clouds gathered on top or them.

For a while they stayed silent, happy to just exist in the other's presence.

Then Damian tugged on his hand and led him to a bench overlooking the lake. 

"We need to talk" he said, not looking at him.

Jon felt his stomach drop. Weren't those the words that usually precede troubles in any of the romantic soap operas his mother liked to watch when she thought no one was looking?

He turned to face Damian, frantic, a thousand apologies on his lips, a million promises to be better, stronger, more present, more-

"I wanna have sex" Damian said abruptly.

Jon blinked. 

And blinked again. 

"What?"

"You heard me" his boyfriend stated, looking all small and cute, with his knees to his chest and his head on his arms, tilted to the side.

All Jon could do was stare.

"...what?"

Damian sighed.

"I said" he punctuated in an exasperated manner "that I want to have sex. With you"

"I… heard you the first time" Jon managed to choke out, aware that his face was turning more scarlet than his cape. 

"And well?" Damian bit out, completely nonplussed. 

Jon opened and closed his mouth like the most idiotic goldfish 

"Well? Well what? What...what do you expect me to say!?"

Damian frowned "I don't know! Hopefully something like 'sure sweetheart, I really want to have sex with you too! You know, since you are my boyfriend and all!" The other boy erupted sarcastically, raising his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Of course I wanna have sex with you! Who do you take me for? A monk?" Jon blurted out, anger raising.

"I don't know? I don't know anymore! You are always pulling back every time I try to get things going!"

"I was trying to be considerate!" He half shouted back. 

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE CONSIDERATE! I WANT YOU TO F- Damian had started to shout, then seemed to realize what he was about to say, turned completely scarlet himself, grimaced, turned to the side sitting back down and in a much lower tone of voice finished with "make love to me" 

And Jon felt like dying. Leave to Damian to be able to end him completely with just four words.

He dropped to his knees in front of Damian, whose shoulder had bunched up so high they were almost touching his shoulders, gently cupped his cheeks and turned his face toward his own. 

"Hey…" he whispered "hey, you know I want that too, right? You MUST know"

Damian stubbornly kept his eyes trained on the trash can to his right, refusing to meet Jon's gaze.

"I love you" Jon continued, nuzzling his forehead against Damian. 

The other boy closed his eyes and sighed, his shoulders finally relaxing.

"But then...why? Why do you always-"

Jon kissed him. His hands slithered down to Damian shoulders, massaging them a bit and then lower, down his back, until they came to rest on his hips and they pushed him forwards until their bodies were flushed together, Jon's face pressed against Damian's belly.

"Because I'm an idiot" he confessed to Damian's belly button. 

Damian's hands came to rest on his head, playing with his curls "that I've known since the first day I saw you, hayseed" he said with a chuckle, pulling Jon's head back until his neck was arched and they were looking in each others eyes "but it still doesn't explain why"

John sighed, groaned, and bent his face forward again, burrowing in the warm planes of Damian's flat abdomen. 

Somehow commuting with his belly button felt easier than doing so with his face.

"I'm afraid, Dami"

"Afraid? You? OF WHAT. You are invulnerable"

"But you are not," Jon said in a grumble so low that for a second he was afraid the other hadn't heard him. 

"I can take care of myself" 

Jon didn't answer. 

Damian pushed him back again, and Jon was forced regretfully to part from his warmth and made to look up in those fierce and lovely green eyes again. "Kent. I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. You KNOW that" Damian carefully enunciated. 

"Of course I know that!"

"Then why!!!"

"What if I'm the one to hurt you!!!" He finally admitted.

Damian stared at him for a moment, the cogs in his head almost visible in their furious twisting and turning.

"You would never do that"

"How can you be sure"

"You would never willingly hurt me. I know that" he said with certainty, like it was a law of nature. 

Jon stood up in frustration and started to pace. 

"You don't know that!!! What if I lose control? What if I get distracted and I break your bones? Do you even know how easy that would be for me? And what if, at the height of emotion my eyes act out and I laser you? Or...or I don't know, I crush you? And-and what if I puff out air and I freeze your face to death! OR WORSE!" 

Damian snorted. 

"Yeah. You could definitely freeze something worse than my face off, Kent" he said, sniggering.

"I AM BEING SERIOUS!" 

"You are being ridiculous!" 

" AM NOT!" 

Damian stood up as well, shaking his head, his face turning serious.

“Look” he said, coming to stand in front of Jon to stop his nervous pacing “I KNOW you wouldn’t hurt me. I KNOW that even if you were to, ah… ‘lose control’ you would still be you. I feel safe with you. Even when you were attacked by a crazy alien virus you did not hurt me! You won’t hurt me. And if you were to be a bit too forceful, I would tell you and you would stop. I know you would” 

Damian said his whole piece with his face getting more and more red. Jon found it so incredibly endearing. 

He kissed Damian, softly, on the mouth. 

“I… don’t know what to say. You have so much trust in me. Where did my bossy cynical robin go?”

“I can show you bossy if you want me to” 

Jon stared at him for a second, without breathing and then collapsed into an embarrassed puddle on Damian’s shoulder.

“When did our roles do a full 180°? I was the one spouting embarrassing stuff like that once” 

Damian pulled him back, looking him straight in the eyes, his own half-lidded, paired up with a hellish grin.

“Well… I’m all grown up now” 

“You… you…”

“Ssssssh” 

Jon shut up. Damian made him. 

Then a drop hit them.

And another. 

They barely noticed.

In a few seconds they were drenched, and laughing, holding each other close, spinning in the air.

  
  


Lois was very little amused when they came through her door as wet as if they had taken a jump in Gotham harbor. 

“I know you can’t catch a cold, Jon, but HE can” she said glaring at her son and pointing at Damian, who for once had the decency to look sheepish. 

“Sorry miss Kent… about everything” Damian said earnestly, talking about much more than just wet floors.

Lois’s gaze turned softer, and she handed him a towel “you know even Clark’s and my power combined can’t stop the media from having a field day with what you did this afternoon, right? It’s all over socials”

Damian winced, but refused to feel discouraged. By his side, Jon clasped his hand and squeezed.

“I know. And I’m sorry you had to know like this...though I suspect you already knew?” he asked.

Lois smiled.

“WELL, my son isn’t exactly good at keeping secrets. My boys are open books to me. And I did tell you once that I have eyes on the back on my head, right?”

At that Damian felt the need to blush. They hadn’t… but maybe...no. They have always been careful, BUT…

“that said,” Lois continued, “while I feel no need to police what you two do in your alone time, I hope you understand that I would prefer you stop sneaking into my son’s room during nights when Clark is out. I might not have super-hearing, but I’m not stupid”

Damian definitely blushed at that. 

“I...yes, ma’am” he mumbled, looking at the floor. 

“Good. We do have a front door, you know. You bats should learn how to use it”

Green eyes snapped up in surprise “but…”

Lois sighed and rolled her eyes “I just told you I am not going to police what you do in your free time, right? My son is twenty, and you’ll be eighteen soon, and anyway, I trust you two to do the right thing” She said looking between the both of them. 

Then winked. 

“OR otherwise be responsible and use protection in case you don’t?” she added with a smug knowing smile.

“MOM!” Jon yelled.

“Oh, don’t ‘MOM’ me. We already talked about it, didn’t we? Do you need a reminder? Does Damian here need a crush course? We can sit down over a cup of hot chocolate and  _ discuss it  _ if you’d like” she said sweetly, as her smile grew the more Jon’s head shook left and right in denial at her every word. 

Damian was pretty sure he had never been more mortified in his life.

Then she turned back to look straight at him. 

“So, Damian? DO you?”

He had to use all the league and bat training combined to force himself to not start shaking his head like Jon was still doing. 

“I...no, ma’am. I’m good” 

“Really…?” she asked leaning in, rolling the R.

“I... yes. definitely. Up to speed”

“Cause as much as I love and respect Bruce, he can be-”

Damian blanched at the idea of receiving the TALK from his father. NOPE.

“NO! He didn’t- I mean. Not HIM. Grayson. Richard. He… we...talked. about it. I’m good. Clear. As crystal” 

“Oh.” she said, surprised, leaning back.

“If you’re sure” 

They both shook their heads up and down in perfect sync, like a couple of idiots. 

“Well then!” she said, clapping her hands together “I’m going in the study to write some more! You too should go dry and change! Let’s order pizza for dinner!”

And so she left. 

They stared at her retrieving back for a few seconds, without moving a muscle. 

When the door of her office clicked shut Damian slowly released all the breath he had been holding. 

“...she totally enjoyed that, didn’t she”

“every moment of it” 

“We’re lucky she is on the side of the angels, Kent. Forget you and your dad. If she ever turns to evil doing we are all doomed”

“Don’t I know it…”

  
  
  
  
  
  


That night, even as he laid in the protective cage of Jon’s arm, the nightmares came again. 

Last time they had left off with a fight against Slade Wilson, of all people, and his “team” turning against him, yelling at him, some bullshit about the blue guy stealing a ring and using the genie girl to get revenge on him. Typical. 

But this time it was different. His dreams had contained scenes of Jon leaving him to join the legion, but they had always been fragments. Fast and fleeting, leaving just a bitter taste in his mouth and a strong sense of abandonment. This time, a stream of vivid scenes unfolded in his mind, one more hurting than the other. He saw Jon bringing him in the future, he saw all the strange alien teens look at him like he was a mistake. A danger. “baby hitler” one called him. He saw the same blonde girl he had seen before come towards him, then dizziness, he felt himself fell, Jon catching him. Then the warmth of Jon’s arms and a female voice “you have to put him back. Immediately”  _ I’m not an object  _ he wanted to scream, but couldn’t.

“Give him to me, I’ll do it” the warmth of Jon’s arms disappeared, replaced by unwelcome softness that felt wrong, 

wrong

WRONG

Jon reuniting with his family, happy, smiling, someone else by his side, a green teenager, Jon presenting him to his grandma, who Damian never had the chance to meet and saying “We thought you’d like to meet one of my friends that isn’t a bat-themed lunatic” and laughing at his expense

and laughing

everyone laughing…

Then the expanse of space. A blur of images flashing through his eyes, incomprehensible, until everything stopped to focus on Jon, Saturn girl by his side. 

Damian wanted to grab him. hug him. Take him away. Cover him with his body, turn at the girl and snarl at her like a wounded, scared, cornered animal. But he was a ghost here. Incorporeal. As far away and inconsequential as the already dead stars surrounding them. 

“One day I will remember that you can read my mind” Jon said, getting closer to her. 

  1. _NO! Please, no!_



“One day. I like that you keep forgetting” 

_ Please. Not this. Don’t take him away. Please!  _ he felt awful. Sick. He had lost everything. He was alone. His family had forgotten him. His father had abandoned him. He had no friends. He had no home.

“I hope I haven’t offended you” Jon continued, with the sweet smile that he usually reserved for HIM. And that now was turned toward that blond girl, as they got closer and closer…

“With the constant romantic thoughts you’ve had towards me since the moment we met?” she smirked, as each of her words cut carelessly at Damian’s skin.

“Oh, no” Jon joked, as Damian turned into nothing. He was nothing. 

“No, oh no” she joked back, closing her eyes. 

“No?” 

_ Please no! _

“No…”

_ “N _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O _

_ O!” _

  
  


“ian!”

“IAN!”

“DAMIAN!!!”

Someone was shaking him. 

It had somehow become a common occurrence lately, to be woken up like this. 

Instead of the usual slap his less than charitable brothers had given him, however, gentle kisses all over his face brought him back to reality.

They were interspersed by gentle reassurances, sweet nothings, and strong hands caressing through his sweaty hair. 

"It's ok. I'm here babe, it's okay. Breath...yeah, that's it"

Damian drew back, still breathing hard, still half sobbing, still CRYING. 

He looked at Jon, at his smile, his nest of unruly hair, breathed in his smell, felt his warmth. 

His Jon. 

_ His. _

  
  
  


Jon hadn't really been sleeping. He knew about the nightmares, after all. He wanted to be ready. 

It had started with slight flinches. A sped up heart rate. The tossing, murmuring, the grinding of teeth. Jon tried to call him lightly, he didn't want to wake up abruptly, but when the tears started falling he panicked and went into full on shaking mode. 

It wasn't his proudest moment, especially when he literally heard Damian's heart skip a beat in fear, but it worked. And there they were now, rocking back and forth, as Damian slowly reinstated that famous control of his over himself. Slowed his breathing and his heart, contracted his muscles to stop the shaking. He was so tense Jon was afraid of breaking him. Again.

When he drew back, Jon finally got to take a look at his face, lined with tears.

"Are you okay, D?" 

"You…" Jon cradled his face with his hand, caressing his wet cheek with his thumbs "yes?"

"You were kissing the blonde lady" 

Damian said, with the seriousness of someone accusing someone else of the most heinous crime.

"I...what?" 

Damian's eyebrows knotted together in anger and he started to HIT HIM. 

"YOU! YOU WERE KISSING THAT BLONDE WITCH!" 

Jon's eyes went wide. "Hey, come on, D! I didn't kiss anyone!"

"You did! And with the most terrible love confession of all time! What the fuck was that!" He kept accusing him, each word followed by a punch, and more tears and Jon… 

He hoped to all gods above his mother was not listening in to this.

"Hey! HEY!" he managed to grab Damian's hands in mid air, forcing his struggling form into a tight hug.

"Ssssssssh. It was a nightmare, baby. It's just a nightmare! It must have been, cause I'm much more into brunettes, anyway…"

"Don't joke about this!" Damian grumbled, sounding so tired that Jon's heart broke for him. 

"I won't...but you should sleep"

"I don't want to"

"They are just nightmares, Dami, I promise!" 

At that Damian sprang up again. "But they are not!" He protested loudly, and Jon couldn't stop himself from putting his hand on his mouth.

“They aren’t just nightmares” Damian said again, at a considerably lower volume. 

“Of course they are. I am not kissing any blonde!” he laughed, trying to lighten the mood. 

“But you could have!” 

“Are you doubting me?” 

“No, but listen! They aren’t just random dreams! They follow a pattern!” 

“Damian…” 

“NO! Just listen to me. They aren’t just a product of my imagination! They could have been my reality, if I’d just take a few wrong steps! If instead of coming to you after Alfred’s death I had stayed away! If I had decided to push my family away more and create the most fucked up teen titans team you could think of, just to try and fill the hole in my chest when you left for space! If…”

“But you didn’t! Dami, you didn’t!” 

“But I could have! It would have been easy!” 

Jon could see tears of frustration making an appearance again. threatening to spill. He took hold of Damian’s face again, forcing him to look up.

“But you didn’t, Damian. You didn’t choose to do those things!”

“You could have chosen to join the league!”

“but I...wait. What has the league of superheroes got to do with anything?”

“You joined it in my nightmares! You left! And they said I was baby Hitler and you called me a bat themed lunatic and then you kissed Saturned girl!”

Jon wanted to laugh now. He really did. What Damian said sounded so preposterous that it was bordering on ridiculous.

He hugged him tight again, patting him on the head and trying to not say “there, there”

“Don’t patronize me”

“I love you” 

“not an excuse” It was a weak attempt however. He could feel Damian relaxing, slipping back into sleep. 

As they laid back in bed, Damian slowly narrated all of his dreams in detail, growing more and more quiet until he finally drifted off into a quiet, peaceful sleep. 

Jon was still wide awake. Something was bothering him. Some kind of foreboding, an afterthought. It was that kind of nagging sensation that something very obvious and very important was eluding him. 

Then it hit him. 

_ “You were kissing the blonde lady”  _

_ “you kissed Saturn girl” _

_ “you were kissing that blonde witch” _

_ “She used her mind controlling powers to make me forget I had accompanied you to the future”  _

He tried to think back to the time when he had almost joined the league. 

Had he described the whole thing in so much detail to Damian? He didn’t think so. If he was being honest, he wasn’t even sure he had ever even described Saturn girl’s appearance to him, or her powers. He had been so angry at her that he had just done his best to forget the whole thing. and yet had been so sure about her being blonde. 

Maybe it was just a coincidence. 

He felt the strong urge to shake Damian awake again to ask him to describe the Saturn girl from his dreams in detail. 

Damian was so tired, however, and he was finally sleeping deeply.

The feeling of wrongness still didn’t leave him.

Something else occurred to him then. 

He had to wiggle his arm quite a bit to reach his phone without waking Damian up.

He pulled it up, lighted up the screen and pulled up the viewtube app. 

Damian had said that amongst the ranks of his ragtag nightmarish teen titans team, there was a viewtuber, as preposterous as that sounds. 

What was his name? Roundball? Wrecking ball? 

Frustrated with his lacking memory, he just typed in “Wrecking ball superhero” 

As soon as the result came out, he felt the distinctive feeling of a cold stone settling on his stomach. 

He clicked on the profile from which the first video of the list was from. The latest videos were from a couple of years before and the channel looked pretty much abandoned, but there was no doubt. 

Billy Wu, aka Roundhouse, was very much real. 

He strengthened his old on Damian’s shoulder, all of his protective instincts flaring up.

Damian’s nightmares weren’t casual. 

In fact, Jon suspected they weren’t really dreams at all. 

Someone was playing with him. 

And that someone was going to pay for it. 

  
  
  
  


It had been raining all day. 

He didn't like the rain. The smell of damp garbage of the hellish city that was Gotham reminded him of the disgusting tang of rotting corpses. And he knew that smell pretty well. 

He found westerns to be such hypocrites. With their big cities that were nothing more than mirrors and illusions to hide the filth behind. 

It was all a matter of appearances. Lies, and empty niceties. Like this place he was currently waiting at. A cozy little coffee shop that promised warmth and familiarity, privacy and the nostalgic scent of 'organic coffee' that was actually 95% chemical flavor and the rest polluted water. 

Lies. 

Like all the promises HE used to tell him. 

"We meet again" a voice called from behind. 

He refused to turn or acknowledge him, knowing his annoying stalker was not going to leave him any time soon.

"You didn't leave me much of a choice"

"I left plenty of choices! It's not like I tied you in some dank basement or something. As I said, I only wanted to talk. Yet you made the right choice!"

"Did I? All I did was come to sit here and drink overpriced capitalist coffee made by destroying forests and enslaving poor people working in plantations"

"How dramatic"

His companion finally came into view as he sat in front of him.

"You look quite different from last time"

" I like to switch things up. It's way less conspicuous like this"

"You look a lot more breakable like this"

"I feel like I can trust you"

"You are wrong"

"We'll see. You did come here to talk with me after all"

"It doesn't matter. Our plan is already in motion"

"Wow. Sooooo dramatic. You remind me of someone"

"You are mistaken. Anyway I have no intention of wasting time. If you want to talk, then talk"

"well then! First things first…"

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooooo I had to make a lot of Bendis related comics research for this and I hated every second of it. Yes I wrote word for word of the bullshit he wrote. Appreciate my pain!  
> Even that bullshit "oh no" "no" "no?" "no!" sequence which actually takes place. Gods know why. it makes absolutely NO SENSE. NO WHAT BENDIS. NO WHAT. So the noooooooo Damian screams was actually my own when I read that bs. such bs.  
> So has anyone understood who the two people at the end are? I thought i made it pretty obvious XD  
> In next chapter they will finally face Bruce! Aaaaaand maybe spicy things up a bit...unless Bruce has a say in it XD  
> overprotective father mode: activated.  
> I am also finally planning to make a new fanart! So hopefully i will post it with next chapter 😌❤️  
> Pls let me know what you think of this chapter 🥺💜

**Author's Note:**

> So...what do you think? Please talk to me! Especially if you want to see more of this story, I get discouraged easily if I get no reaction :') <3  
> And I desperately need someone to discuss Jon Dami with, this pairing needs more love!  
> 


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